Boat capsizes: Coast Guard rescues 3

ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. – The Coast Guard rescued 3 boaters near Neptune Beach early Saturday morning after the boat they were in capsized sending all of them into the water.

Stephen W. Preeschl, 61, of Keystone Heights, Fla.; Bobby Zinc, 46, of Jacksonville, Fla.; and Karl Zinc, 17, of Jacksonville, were the passengers on board at the time of the incident.

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The 3 boaters were on a 31-foot Yellowfin center console boat that began taking on water. They had been in contact with the commercial salvage company Sea Tow, which notified the Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville of the incident at just before 10 a.m.

When Guardsmen from the Coast Guard station Mayport in Atlantic Beach arrived on scene, they found the vessel capsized, 2 of the people wearing life jackets on top of the overturned vessel and the third person in the water nearby without a life jacket holding on to a piece of the boat. The man told rescue crews he had put a life jacket on, but it fell off before he was rescued.

Petty Officer 1st class Samuel Marodis said, "They did the right thing by staying with their vessel instead of attempting to swim to safety."

The Coast Guard was able to bring all 3 people aboard the 45-foot Response Boat – Medium and transported them to Station Mayport. There were no injuries reported and all three declined medical treatment.