Avalon lifeguards stage daring rescue of teens on shipwrecked sailboat

⛵ An Avalon Yacht Club sailboat tried to return because of windy conditions

⛵ The engine stopped working, causing it to drift towards a jetty

⛵ The head of the Avalon Beach Patrol said 40 lifeguards were part of the rescue

AVALON — Ten people were rescued Wednesday after their sailboat was smashed to bits against a jetty in rough water.

Avalon Beach Patrol Capt. Matthew Wolf told New Jersey 101.5 that a mayday call came around 11 a.m. from the Townsend Inlet bridge operator.

A sailboat's engine had stopped working as it tried returning to the Avalon Yacht Club.

The sails were not up, causing the boat named "What Exit" to drift toward the 8th Avenue Jetty. Eight teens and two adult instructors were aboard.

"We immediately blew a run, which is our kind of emergency code for an emergency. Everybody starts running in that direction. We alert EMS so we get other agencies involved. And we called the Coast Guard," Wolf said. "I saw the mass of the sailboat up against the rocks, and it was on the inlet side. And I thought to myself, 'this is not going to be good."

 'Wild, wild situation'

Wolf, who's been with Avalon Beach Patrol for 28 years, called it a "wild, wild situation."

Wolf said that approximately 40 lifeguards and rescue equipment responded in what he calls one of the most dangerous waters on the East Coast. One person was brought back to shore on a wave runner but it was difficult to put swimmers and rescue craft in the inlet because of the conditions.

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Wolf said the guards, ranging from veterans to rookies, did a "phenomenal" job getting everyone out of the water.

"We do do trainings for this but, quite frankly, if we had had a training scheduled for yesterday, we would have canceled it because of the conditions. So this was above and beyond. There were definitely some heroes down there yesterday," Wolf said.

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