Three Boaters Rescued in Gardiner's Bay

Three men were rescued from Gardiner's Bay Monday night after a search that began with a 911 call for help when their small boat began taking on water. They reportedly had no engine or equipment.

Their ordeal began around 8 p.m., according to Coast Guard Station Montauk, which participated in the search-and-rescue operation. An Amagansett Fire Department ambulance was called to treat the men for cold exposure at the Devon Yacht Club at 9:25 p.m., shortly after they had been pulled from their smaller vessel, and taken aboard an East Hampton Town Marine Patrol boat.

"The biggest problem we had was finding them," Ed Michels, East Hampton Town's chief harbormaster, said on Tuesday. Cellphone G.P.S. tracking placed the boaters at several different places, including Montauk, Maidstone, and Gerard Drive. A Suffolk County police helicopter was called to assist in the search. 

The weather conditions were not favorable. "It was nasty out there," Chief Michels said. Online records show air and water temperatures in the upper 60s and wind gusts to 23  m.p.h. 

The men were still in the boat, soaking wet, when crew members on the Marine Patrol boat were able to locate them between Fireplace in Springs and Gardiner's Island. "If we didn't find them I don't know if they would have made it through the night," Chief Michels said.

No further information was immediately available.