Instructor, Student Rescued After Boat Capsizes
CHICAGO (STMW) – A boating instructor and his 14-year-old student were rescued after the small sailboat they were in capsized in the rough waters of Lake Michigan during a small craft advisory Saturday morning.
About 10:15 a.m., a small sailboat tipped over near Belmont Harbor sending a 23-year-old boating instructor and his 14-year-old male student into the water, according to police.
The two were part of a larger group that was scheduled to go boating together, but the event was canceled because of the choppy waters.
They were both wearing life vests when they fell into the water during windy conditions when waves were about 9 feet high, according to a police Marine Unit officer. A small craft advisory was in effect at the time.
Chicago Fire Department personnel responded to a boat in distress and when crews got to the scene, two males had already been brought to Belmont Harbor by civilians, according to Fire Media Affairs spokesman Richard Rosado.
A police Marine Unit boat also went to help, as well as others from Belmont Harbor, according to the police officer, who did not know who got them out of the water.
Paramedics treated them on the scene and they were not hospitalized, Rosado said.
The instructor, John Weisert, of Milwaukee, Wisc., was told of the small craft advisory, but he went out anyway, according to police. Weisert was cited with careless operation of a boat, police said.
A supervisor for Belmont Harbor could not be reached immediately.
The small craft advisory remains in effect for Northerly Island to Calumet Harbor until Sunday evening, according to U.S. Coast Guard Calumet Harbor Petty Officer Joseph Martin.
"It lets boaters know that there's some rough seas and heavy winds,'' Martin said.
The advisory, initially put into effect early Friday, warns of winds gusting about 36 mph and waves that may build to up to ten feet, Martin said.
