Traverse City Record-Eagle

Leelanau County

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  • Douglas Tesner

    Rescue
July 3, 2009

Sailboats capsize on Sleeping Bear Bay

Coast Guardsmen, others rescue students

BY ART BUKOWSKI

GLEN ARBOR -- No one was injured when two small sailboats capsized in Sleeping Bear Bay.

The U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies responded Friday morning after a woman on shore called 911 to report the incident. A group of boats from Camps Leelanau & Kohanna on Pyramid Point were out when the weather took a nasty turn.

"They were out and it was relatively calm when this front raced in on them," Glen Lake Fire Chief John Dodson said.

Stiff breezes whipped the lake into a frenzy, and two boats containing a handful of campers tipped about 200 yards from shore. All were wearing life jackets, and they clung to or sat on the boats while awaiting rescue crews.

A crewman from a Coast Guard helicopter jumped in and helped load the campers onto nearby fishing boats. The seas were too rough to deploy one of the fire department's boats, Dodson said, so rescuers relied on other watercraft coming in from the lake.

Six campers were examined for hypothermia or other injuries, Dodson said, and all were fine. Both boats were recovered.

A director at camps Leelanau & Kohanna did not return a call for comment.

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    Jun 18, 2010 7:15 am
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  • Wednesday, May 26, 2010
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    May 26, 2010 8:00 am
  • Friday, May 21, 2010
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  • Tuesday, May 18, 2010
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    May 18, 2010 7:28 am 1 Photo
  • Saturday, May 15, 2010
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    May 11, 2010 8:17 am
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    Apr 29, 2010 7:47 am 1 Photo
  • Sunday, April 25, 2010
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  • Saturday, April 24, 2010
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    Updated Apr 24, 2010 7:48 am 3 Photos
  • Tuesday, April 13, 2010
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    Updated Apr 13, 2010 7:02 am
  • Friday, April 9, 2010
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    Updated Apr 10, 2010 12:50 am
  • Thursday, April 8, 2010
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  • Wednesday, April 7, 2010
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  • Saturday, April 3, 2010
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    Apr 3, 2010 12:17 am 1 Photo
  • Thursday, April 1, 2010
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    Updated Apr 1, 2010 7:21 am
  • Tuesday, March 30, 2010
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    Updated Mar 30, 2010 7:15 am 3 Photos