Massachusetts man rescued after clinging to boat for 13 hours

YARMOUTH, Mass. -- A boater with severe hypothermia was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard after clinging to his overturned boat for nearly 13 hours.

A woman alerted authorities late Monday that her boyfriend, 36-year-old Medford resident Arthur Moscufo, had gone out to launch his boat on the Bass River that morning and hadn’t contacted her since. After finding Moscufo’s truck and boat trailer in the area of Bass River and Smugglers Beach in Yarmouth, firefighters were called and conducted a search of the shore.

Simultaneously, rescue crews from the Coast Guard, Yarmouth Fire and several other departments launched boats into the water and the Coast Guard dispatched its helicopter. Crews spotted Moscufo clinging to his overturned boat around 4:20 a.m. Tuesday.

The crew dragged him aboard and tried to warm him up.

Moscufo was rushed to an area hospital in good condition, where he is expected to recover.

Moscufo told rescuers he was testing a small aluminum boat he had just bought, leaving around 11:30 a.m. Monday.

Around 3:30 p.m., the boat capsized, and he clung to it until he was rescued. The tide carried him about 2.5 miles out to sea in Nantucket Sound.

Firefighters said Moscufo was helped by the fact that he was wearing a life jacket.

“He should probably play the lottery,” Deputy Yarmouth Fire Chief Jon Sawyer told CBS Boston. “Lucky guy, very lucky. I think another couple hours, it wouldn’t have turned out the way it did.