The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a family of three stranded on a small island off the coast of Cape Cod in Massachusetts on Wednesday morning.
The trio had set off on a 30-foot pleasure craft Friday from El Pond in Falmouth, and were expected to return Tuesday afternoon. When they didn’t arrive, family members reported them missing, the Coast Guard said in a statement.
The mother, father and son had planned to remain anchored between Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard through the weekend, but Monday night they awoke to their boat, named Third Wave, in flames, forcing the family to abandon ship, according to the U.S Coast Guard.
They managed to swim to Naushon Island, the largest of the Elizabeth Islands, located east of Martha’s Vineyard, taking shelter in a barn.
After reports from a family member of them being overdue came in, authorities launched a search for the boat on Tuesday night. Calls to Third Wave went straight to voicemail while calls to the family’s cell phones just continued to ring, authorities said.
Then on Wednesday morning, the Coast Guard received a MAYDAY call from the survivors via marine radio. The authorities said that the son had located their boat’s radio that washed ashore.
Volunteers from Naushon Trust seemingly were the first to reach the survivors and performed first aid before they were then airlifted by a Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod to a Cape Cod hospital.
Hyannis Fire Chief Jeff Lamothe told Cape Cod Times that the survivors were suffering from smoke inhalation, burns and exposure.
#SearchandRescue @USCG members rescue 3 boaters off Naushon Island after their 30-ft vessel caught fire.
More details in our press release https://t.co/N8fjj8JCrV pic.twitter.com/cU9mhPwxEY— USCGNortheast (@USCGNortheast) October 22, 2025
