Coast Guard Helicopter Crew on Training Flight Rescues Man

A man knocked off his water-skiing craft by rough waters along the New Jersey coast was rescued Sunday by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crew who happened to be conducting a training flight in the area.

The helicopter from Atlantic City was flying over Manasquan Inlet when the crew's rescue swimmer noticed what appeared to be a Jet Ski in the water with no one aboard, said a Coast Guard spokesman.

The crew then spotted that man in the water near a jetty. As the helicopter circled to make an approach, waves slammed the man's ski-craft into the rocks.

The crew lowered their rescue swimmer to the water on a hoist cable and plucked that man form the water, the spokesman said.

"Between the weather conditions and the situation we were in — right by the jetty — he was in a really bad spot," said Petty Officer 3rd Class Billy Arrison, the rescue swimmer. "It was only a matter of time until he would’ve washed up on the rocks next to his jet ski." 

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