KODIAK, Alaska — A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew medevaced a 68-year-old man who fell ill aboard the 35-foot fishing vessel Northern Star docked in Point Baker on Prince of Wales Island, Thursday.

The Jayhawk crew landed on a nearby beach and brought the man aboard where he was transported to Sitka and transferred to commercial emergency medical services for further transport to advanced medical care.

Coast Guard 17^th District command center watchstanders received the request for medevac from the mariner via VHF radio. The man reported the vessel was tied to the dock but there were no EMS available in the area.

Due to the mariner’s remote location, the watchstanders directed an Air Station Sitka Jayhawk crew that was already in the air for training to support the medevac request.

“This case illustrates the professionalism and readiness of our Coast Guard crews,” said Petty Officer 1^st Class James Fangman, a situational unit controller with the Coast Guard 17^th District Command Center. “Our crews are always ready to respond, even during training flights, enabling us to ensure this man was safely transported to get the medical care he needed.”

Weather at the time of the rescue was reported as calm.

  Alaska, Coast Guard, helicopter, medevac, northern star, prince of wales