Windy Conditions, Rough Waters Spur Lake Rescue Calls On Lake Mendota
Madison, WI
A total of four boaters were taken to shore Saturday in a pair of lake rescue calls spanning the afternoon.
At 1:27 p.m., the Madison Fire Department’s Lake Rescue Team was dispatched to Lake Mendota in the area near Farwell Street in the Village of Maple Bluff. Two boaters were stranded as their boat began sinking in the rough waters brought about by the high winds of the day. Two Lake Rescue Team divers entered the water and brought the boaters to safety on the MFD Lake Rescue boat. The duo were taken to Warner Park to be seen by paramedics for hypothermia. The sunken boat was retrieved by the Dane County Sheriff’s Office and returned the boat to the Warner Park boat launch.
At 5:10 p.m., the Lake Rescue Team was again dispatched to Lake Mendota, this time to the area between James Madison Park and the Tenney Park locks. Two sailors were stranded in the water with their overturned sailboat. Three members of the Lake Rescue Team entered the water and brought the sailors aboard the Lake Rescue boat. After several failed attempts to right the sailboat—which had a damaged boom, spinnaker, and main sail—the boat was anchored in place with the help of the Dane County Sheriff’s Office and left to be retrieved once lake conditions improved.