Moored boats off of the Port of Oswego Thursday morning.
OSWEGO -- Nine children and two adults were rescued from the choppy waters of Oswego harbor after a sailing lesson turned dangerous.
It started as a pleasant day as they set sail in 6 small boats at about 10:00 this morning. By 10:30, the winds changed direction and got stronger. Soon the kids between the ages of 9 and 13, were struggling near the harbor's eastern breakwall. After one boat capsized and another veered toward shore, instructors sent out a "mayday" call. A Coast Guard crew , stationed at Oswego harbor was on the scene in minutes.
"They were scared." Coast Guard rescuer Jadon Sprague told CNY Central, "When you're out there in that wind and seas like that and your boats are swamped...yeah they were panicked but they were fine. They have experience on the boats."
The Coast Guard crew was assisted by the Kaho, a research vessel owned by the U.S. Geological Survey. The Oswego Fire Department came to the aid of two kids whose boat drifted to shore.
The boating lesson was put on by the Oswego Maritime Foundation whose President, Richard Bush, says the kids trained for such an event. "Water safety, that's what we're about...occasionally people get wet."
There were no injuries. Sprague pointed out that everyone was wearing life jackets, otherwise, he says the incident could have had a tragic ending.
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A group of children and their adult instructors are recovering after their sailboats capsized on Lake Ontario.
According to the United States Coast Guard, nine children and two adults from the Oswego Maritime Foundation were using six sailboats in the waters of Lake Ontario near the post of Oswego. We’re told that the boats were caught in the high winds on the lake and were pushed up against the breakwall, where some of the boats then capsized.
The Coast Guard says they rescued four of the boaters from the water, and two more made it to shore where they were picked up by Oswego Police. The remaining boaters were towed in by a civilian vessel.
CNY Central reporter Jim Kenyon spoke with Richard Bush, the president of the Maritime Foundation. Bush says the children are trained to handle dangerous situations like this, and they were not in any imminent danger because they were all wearing life vests.
No major injuries have been reported, and all of the boaters are accounted for.
