A 60-year-old man was rescued by Winthrop Harbor Fire Department personnel after he fell out of a sailboat on Lake Michigan Monday afternoon.
Winthrop Harbor Fire Department Deputy Chief Bill Beetschen said the department received a call about a man in the water near a sailboat shortly after 1 p.m. He said the man had fallen out of the craft about one-eighth of a mile east of the North Point Marina.
Beetschen said the man was wearing a flotation device, but a second person on the sail boat was unable to get him out of the water, and used a cell phone to call for emergency help.
Although several fire departments and the Coast Guard were contacted, a Winthrop Harbor Fire Department boat was able to quickly arrive at the scene and help the man out of the water. He was transported to shore, where Beetschen said emergency medical personnel were able to determine that he was cold but uninjured. After he warmed up, the man declined further treatment and was released without being transported to a hospital.
Beetschen said the fire department had just trained a new dive team and received new equipment over the past year.
“We’ve had a couple of positive results since then,” he said.
U.S Coast Guard Ensign Zachary Hall, stationed in Milwaukee, said the Coast Guard did respond to the call, but that the Winthrop Harbor Fire Department had made the rescue before the Coast Guard arrived.
Beetschen said he did not immediately have information on where the rescued man lives.
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