2 Rescued After Being Stranded in Long Island Sound for Day

The U.S. Coast Guard has rescued two men who were stranded on a raft in Long Island Sound for a day. 

Bob Ewing, a member of the Coast Guard Auxiliary, and his wife were heading from Port Jefferson in New York to Block Island, Rhode Island this morning when they came across a man in distress in an inflatable boat about two miles off of Milford. 

Ewing said it was 9:49 a.m. and the man in the raft was waving an orange windbreaker in a sign of distress. Together, he and his wife hoisted the man into their vessel.

The man was somewhat alert, but in need of medical assistance, Ewing said, so his wife administered to him, treating him for shick and hypothermia, and they set off to meet the Coast Guard in New Haven.  

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the man in the raft  and another person had set out on Monday night. 

The other man who had been in the raft had jumped off to get to shore for help and the Coast Guard found him on Charles Island, off the coast of Milford. 

During the search, he approached the command officer said he was the person they were looking for. He's been on the island all night and was waiting for low tide to make it back to shore.

Neither man sustained serious injuries.  

Emergency crews in Milford said this type of incident shows the need for proper equipment when going out on the water and the need to give a Float Plan to someone on shore, with details of the time you are leaving and when you expect to return, as well as your destination and route intended.

Also bring proper equipment, they urge, including a waterproof light, a marine radio or cell phone, personal flotation device and a sounding device.

They also warn to check the weather before leaving, including the high and low tides.

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