Intoxicated late-night boater rescued in Gastineau Channel

Juneau Police and the Coast Guard responded early Friday morning to help an intoxicated boater escape his foundering craft in the middle of Gastineau Channel.

Shoreline residents near green buoy number 7 across from Douglas Island Pink and Chum hatchery reported hearing screaming coming from somewhere in the water after 1 o’clock in the morning.

Juneau Police said they responded with a pair of officers who were able to shine a light on the unidentified 43-year-old man. He was apparently standing on some sort of makeshift watercraft that was sinking after an attempt to paddle from downtown Juneau to Auke Bay.

Coast Guard search and rescue controller Vince Grochowski said they dispatched a 25-foot rescue boat from Station Juneau. The rescue boat was directed by officers to the spot in the middle of the channel about a quarter mile offshore. The boat crew picked up the unidentified man as his eight-foot vessel continued sinking. It’s no longer considered a hazard to navigation.

The intoxicated late-night boater was not injured, but he was taken to Bartlett Regional Hospital for evaluation.

Neither the Coast Guard nor Juneau Police were able to really determine why he was out there paddling in the middle of the night.

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