A Long Island Sound "sailor" takes the family and friends out for a daysail.
Due to his own negligence, the propellor shaft comes loose and falls out of
the boat. This goes unnoticed until there's 18 inches of water in the cabin
and both batteries are flooded. After 5 minutes of frantic mayday calls on
the radio he realizes it is dead. So then he uses the handheld, screaming
mayday into it and firing no less than 12 flares in 5 minutes. Everyone on
board is in a total panic. There is no dinghy, no inflatable. The water line
is approaching the gunwales. The coast guard sends out a helicopter with 2
rescue swimmers. The children are taken first, then the women. The
helicopter is at capacity and must fly to base so he is left onboard the
sinking boat. 20 more minutes go by and the sailboat is near the point of no
return. Fortunately the tow service from the nearby marina comes to the
rescue and with the help of auxiliary pumps and a wooden plug the boat is
saved and towed back in. This is a true story, there's a news story and a
coast guard report with eyewitness accounts. Guess who the "sailor" is.