BRADLEY BEACH — A sailboat that set sail in the ocean during Sunday morning's rain and wind needed help from the Coast Guard to return to shore.

Resident Bud McCormick was on the boardwalk when he saw the sailboat in the rough waters around 11:15 a.m. off the Lorraine Avenue beach taking on water and notified the Coast Guard.

He said that two people appeared to be on board the sailboat that did not have its sails up. The Coast Guard craft appeared to be having a hard time approaching the boat in the waves. The Coast Guard crew was using a megaphone to communicate with the pair on board the sailboat.

Coast Guard spokesman Petty Officer Seth Johnson said when a 47 foot motor life boat dispatched from Manasquan Station assist the sailboat only one man was found on board who only spoke Italian.  No one on the Coast Guard crew spoke Italian and the man refused to take a life preserver and a radio from the crew. One of the crew members did bring an Italian speaking relative to Manasquan station but the man continued to refuse the radio.

The man maneuvered away from the Coast Guard and successfully re-anchored his boat, according to Johnson. The Coast Guard crew left due to the weather conditions but will continue to monitor the boat. They also issued an alert for other craft in the area to watch for the sailboat.

Johnson said they were unable to identify the man.

New Jersey 101.5 Chief Meteorologist Dan Zarrow said winds were gusting to 40 mph out of the east-northeast are kicking up waves of at least five feet.

"While there were no showers or thunderstorms in the vicinity at the time, that background wind is pretty fierce," Zarrow said.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNJ

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