Two Fire Island Boaters Rescued by Ferry Captain and Crew

Captain Victor Klipp and his crew rescued two stranded boaters who fell out of their boat in the Great South Bay during a Saturday night shift in early September. The boaters were bumped out of their boat after a wave washed over their 18-foot center console boat, but Captain Klipp stumbled across them just in the nick of time.

Captain Klipp told Newsday it was one of the men’s cell phones that saved their lives, but Suffolk County Police Marine Bureau Officer Robert Reed gave all the credit to the captain and his crew. During an otherwise ordinary night shift, Captain Klipp had five passengers aboard the Fire Island ferry Voyager headed to Kismet when he saw a cell phone light being waved around and realized two men were yelling for help.

“You never expect to see two people drowning in the middle of the Bay,” Klipp said. “It was crazy.” He added, “They were getting knocked around pretty good. If it weren’t for that cellphone, we would have never seen them.”

When Captain Klipp and his crew members Richard Stewart, John Murray and James Sorzono realized the two men were in need of help, they threw life rings and life jackets into the water and pulled them out of the water into safety. Reed and Suffolk County Marine Bureau Officer Robert Reuter then responded to the scene and brought the stranded boaters to shore, who both declined medical treatment. Klipp told News 12 the men were “thanking me up and down” and were grateful for his heroic efforts.

“It was cold and really dark and windy last night, and out on the Bay was really choppy,” explained Reed. “Those guys were in the water for a half-hour and they didn’t have life vests on either — they would have only made it another 10 minutes.”

For over 40 years William J Newman Realty has had the pleasure of servicing the west end of Fire Island, helping families enjoy this special barrier beach destination. Call us today about renting or buying from Fair Harbor to Dunewood, Lonelyville, to Saltaire.