Sailor rescued from cargo barge
A barge being towed from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Jacksonville Saturday ended up with an unplanned passenger'a sailor whose 33-foot sailing vessel collided with the 115-foot barge.
The U.S. Coast guard said Russell Bolton, 51, of Green Cove Springs, Fla. was sailing off the coast of St. Augustine when his sailing vessel collided with the barge being towed by the 70-foot tug Ybor City, an American-flag vessel owned by Mobro Marine, based in Glen Cove, Fla.
When the collision occurred, the Coast Guard said, Bolton was able to jump onto the barge before going into the water.
The collision occurred around 5 a.m. but Bolton was not spotted until 10 a.m. The crew of the tug initially thought Bolton was a stowaway and called the Coast Guard at Sector Jacksonville. The Coast Guard team boarding the vessel initially handcuffed Bolton, but was soon able to verify his identity and nationality. Bolton lived aboard his sailing vessel, and was taken to a Red Cross shelter in Jacksonville.
Sailor rescued from cargo barge
