Couple and cats rescued after sailboat capsizes off Tybee Island
By Leon Purvis
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TYBEE ISLAND, Georgia (WJCL) — A couple and their two cats were rescued by Tybee Island Fire Rescue after their sailboat was struck by powerful waves and capsized near North Beach on Monday night.
Damion Allen, one of the survivors, recounted the terrifying moments leading up to the rescue.
“This wall of water that I’m about to just run into,” Allen said.
Allen and his girlfriend were sailing to Dataw Island when they encountered strong waves in unfamiliar waters.
“Then one of the waves, like, knocks my headsail loose, so it breaks loose and is flapping in the wind, so it’s pulling the front of my boat back and forth,” Allen said.
The situation escalated when a massive wave hit the boat.
“This giant wave just dumps down on top of all of us. It actually knocks one of the cats loose out of my girlfriend’s hands, and so she tosses one of them in my arms. So I’m holding on to one while I’m holding on to the helm,” Allen said.
Allen said his girlfriend used the radio to make a pan-pan call for help.
“I can’t really hear what’s going on on the radio, but I hear lighthouse. Can you see the lighthouse? So that’s when I turn around and I start heading towards the lighthouse,” Allen said.
He steered the boat toward the beach, where Tybee Island Fire Rescue crews were waiting to assist.
“I holler out, I’m like, ‘Are y’all the ones? Y’all the Coast Guard Fire Department? Y’all Miss Night Train?’ And they’re like, ‘All right, we’re gonna get the humans off board and we’re gonna get the cats.’ And I was like, ‘Nope, you’re gonna get the cats first. I’m not leaving without cats,’” Allen said.
Allen, his girlfriend, and their cats—Biscuit and Hoops—were all brought to shore safely.
Allen said first responders initially got one of the cats’ names wrong.
“And so maybe his name is Soup now. Soup or Hoops? I don’t care. I’m just happy he’s safe,” Allen said.
When visited, Biscuit was hiding. Allen shared that he and his girlfriend had been living between their camper and the boat, but now, with the boat destroyed, they are trying to figure out their next steps.
“Our computers, all my video games. I had N64, and that’s gone, right? Smash Brothers, R.I.P. Right? So yeah, like all of our, all of our stuff, like we had just loaded up with groceries,” Allen said.
Damion and his girlfriend have a GoFundMe set up.
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