PORTSMOUTH, Va. — The Coast Guard rescued an overturned kayaker from the water Wednesday near Old Point Comfort in Hampton.
Watch standers at Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads in Portsmouth received a report at about noon of two overturned kayakers near Hampton.
A 25-foot Response Boat-Small crew from Coast Guard Station Portsmouth was launched, and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, who were already in the area for training, diverted to assist.
The helicopter crew arrived on scene to find one male kayaker in the water approximately 200 yards south of Old Point Comfort Lighthouse and lowered a rescue swimmer.
The response boat crew arrived on scene and, with the help of the rescue swimmer, pulled the kayaker from the water onto the boat.
The response boat crew took the kayaker to Old Point Comfort Marina in Hampton and placed him in the care of awaiting Hampton EMS in good condition.
The other kayaker was able to get back into his kayak and paddle to shore without assistance.
No injuries were reported.
"Both kayakers were wearing lifejackets today," said Petty Officer 2nd Class Mark Earley, response boat operator for the case. "Wearing a lifejacket is the single most important thing anyone heading out on the water can do to increase their chance of survival when things go wrong."