FDNY Lt. rescued 5 miles off Breezy Pt.

[Guest hoss]

Glad he is safe onshore w/ his family! Good job by NYPD aviation unit.

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photo credits: WABC TV NY

NYC firefighter rescued from ocean

NEW YORK, Nov. 25 (UPI) -- A windsurfing off-duty New York City firefighter clinging to his sailboard five miles offshore was rescued by a city police helicopter, officials said Saturday.

Police divers plucked Lt. Chip Marshall from the 50-degree waters more than an hour after a fierce riptide and heaving waves sucked him out to sea, New York's Daily News reported.

"The tide was going out and it was going out fast," said Marshall. "I got sucked out."

Marshall tried to paddle back, but kept getting pulled farther away from land.

The rescue chopper was about to turn around to refuel when a sharp-eyed officer spotted Marshall bobbing in 6- to 8-foot-high waves.

Marshall, an eight-year veteran firefighter, had been windsurfing with two friends shortly before 1 p.m. Friday when the wind suddenly picked up.

When he failed to return, his friends had a fisherman called police and the helicopter found him 30 minutes later.

Wife Cindi said, "Even on his vacation, he gets in trouble."

WNBC

Swept Away: Firefighter Rescued Clinging To Sailboard

POSTED: 10:36 am EST November 25, 2006

UPDATED: 11:29 am EST November 25, 2006

WNBC NY

NEW YORK -- A New York City firefighter was back on shore Saturday after his sailboard was swept out to sea.

Police said a New York Police Department Sea & Air Rescue helicopter spotted Fire Lt. Charles Marshall clinging to his board nearly five miles off Breezy Point Friday afternoon.

They said NYPD divers pulled him from choppy, 50-degree water, where he had been drifting for almost two hours, according to NewsChannel 4's Adam Shapiro.

"If he had been a wet suit, he might not have survived," one of the divers told NewsChannel 4. "[His] dry suit really saved his life."

Police said Marshall and two friends had gone out sailboarding together from Plumb Beach in Brooklyn, but they got separated.

Rescuers said Marshall was cold, but coherent when they reached him. He was taken to Lutheran Medical Center for treatment, but he was able to go home later Friday.