# How much does a Coast Guard rescue cost?



## chriscross80 (Oct 30, 2012)

If you have to be rescued by the Coast Guard from your boat, do you have to pay for the rescue?

Just wondering after seeing this...






Here's the backstory of the video...

"An elderly man and his little dog are safe Tuesday after being rescued from their disabled sailboat off the coast of Ensenada.

According to U.S. Coast Guard officials, the 77-year-old man's boat was dead in the water about 120 miles southwest of San Diego Monday morning. The U.S. Coast Guard San Diego Sector rescued the man and his dog after a ham radio operator in Texas intercepted the mayday call.

The man told crew members he'd been stranded for days and that he was on his way to Tahiti. He was running low on food, water and safety supplies.

"The boat was unable to sail. Sails were ripped and the master and his dog were sitting inside," said Lt. Commander Chip Lewin.

A Coast Guard rescue swimmer was lowered from an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter to rescue the man and dog.

"It was about 15- to 18-foot seas with the boat dead in the water. The waves were pushing it away from me as I was trying to get to it. It was challenging swimming to the boat," said Coast Guard aviation survival technician Mike Linehan.

Linehan was the first to make contact with the man, who he said appeared a bit disoriented.

"It was really hard to talk to him at first. Come to find out later he didn't have his hearing aids in. We were just trying to asses his condition," said Linehan.

According to authorities, the man lived on his vessel. He agreed to abandon it when the crew told him he probably would not survive in the rough seas.

Moments later, the man and his pet were hoisted in a basket and into the helicopter."


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## SVAuspicious (Oct 31, 2006)

I'm only 53 so I might feel differently at 77. I don't understand why he didn't dump the jib over the side. Clearly there was an issue of some kind with halyards aft of the mast. It looks like it just needs tension up on it but there could be a bigger problem. If he could get the main up he could make way.

Still, I wasn't there. None of us know what the situation really was. Monday morning quarterbacking is easy. 

Go sailing.


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## nolatom (Jun 29, 2005)

Yours was a rhetorical question, right?

The only way to find out what a Coast Guard rescue effort cost is to call in a hoax distress call and get caught. Then, and only then, will you be presented with a bill (and a federal arrest warrant), and those aircraft aren't cheap. 

there are many many reasons not to do this.


Even "boneheaded" distress situations are done for free by Charlie Golf. Be grateful, but try not to make these skilled and brave rescuers have to put their asses and aircraft and vessels on the line. Because they will.


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## diverchick71 (Jul 3, 2012)

I didn't see the video...can't see from mobile, for some reason. But I wonder if there was an underlying medical condition. At 77, so many little things can get a body outta sync. In that age group, even a slight electrolyte balance and dehydration can effect judgement. Clear that problem up and a person is back to normal. Just a thought. I have no clue about costs but that sort of operation has to be insanely costly and involved the risk for the CG guys as well 

Ihad to be "rescued" (from my own stupidity) by bay watch diving off of SoCal once. Took a ride to the hyperbaric chamber with paramedics for evaluation. I was worried about the cost the whole time but I never did get a bill. I didn't need a chamber ride, I WOULD have received a bill for that.


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## Cruiser2B (Jan 6, 2011)

I am not trying to be all mushy here but you really cant put a price on saving someones life.

I believe the coast guard should be the very last ditch effort to safe a life. All means onboard should be exhausted first. 

The USCG are some highly skilled and trained young men and woman and I am glad we have such a service. After all, each and everyone of us pays for it. I hope to never have to use them but if someone else has to...well then so be it.


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## RainDog (Jun 9, 2009)

There are two ways to look at the cost of a rescue:

1) Total Coast Guard Budget / # of rescues
2) Amount it costs to rescue you - cost to CG if no rescue was done during that window

The first will give you a *much* higher cost than the second. The second is really more accurate IMHO, but still pretty high if a helicopter and/or overtime is involved. If they send a (small) boat and it does not trigger overtime, it would be a pretty small number I would think.


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## poopdeckpappy (Jul 25, 2006)

I think a CG SAR runs around $4500.00/hr ( Helo )- $6500.00/hr (C-130) ) and around $500.00/hr (RIB) - $3000.00/hr ( cutter )

I know from my racing days a copter ride from the high desert to Loma Linda Medical was a $12,000 ride


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## macwester26 (Mar 21, 2013)

And whom pays the recovery of the vessel ...Or is it not recoverd and just abandoned ..?


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## cruisingdream (Feb 7, 2007)

RainDog said:


> T The second is really more accurate IMHO, but still pretty high if a helicopter and/or overtime is involved. If they send a (small) boat and it does not trigger overtime, it would be a pretty small number I would think.


Since when does the military (Coast Guard) pay over time?


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## JonEisberg (Dec 3, 2010)

SVAuspicious said:


> I'm only 53 so I might feel differently at 77. I don't understand why he didn't dump the jib over the side. Clearly there was an issue of some kind with halyards aft of the mast. It looks like it just needs tension up on it but there could be a bigger problem. If he could get the main up he could make way.
> 
> Still, I wasn't there. None of us know what the situation really was. Monday morning quarterbacking is easy.
> 
> Go sailing.


I'm gonna guess "running low on food and water" 120 miles from San Diego, on a voyage to Tahiti, probably tells us pretty much all we need to know about this one


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## AKscooter (Jan 18, 2009)

Ahh...the ol' punish them for wasting resources thread.......Lets look at this eh? 77 year old guy....medically unstable.....it is easier than you think to become dehydrated, disorientated and have far less reserves than you could even imagine. Don't worry, some/most of you will be there sooner than you think.....As stated earlier, it is easy to become disabled at 77. It is very easy to die at 77 compared to a young buck at say 30. The guy had the presence of mind to call for help. A wise man there. That he was _only_ 120 miles offshore is irrelevant. What, you can only call for help at 125 miles??? Please, at least the guy had the sense to call. 18 foot seas in a small boat is not fun for younger folks....so yea....it was a challenging rescue.......Coast Guard expenses run as such: Gear, guys/gals, boats, helicopters, Falcons, already paid for. Many times they spend way more on training missions too. In a rescue such as this it is akin to a training mission with the exception of somebody's life was at stake. You know those things they do to stay sharp. So could their resources be spent more wisely? What exactly is the Coast Guard for? A rescue organization first and foremost. Busting ne'er do wells a distant second. Is anyone here qualified to second guess a person who puts out a distress call as unnecessary? How about taking responsibility for deciding *NOT *to rescue someone??? The point is, it is a service that the US government decided to create and fund as an integral part of the service to sailors. I many times do not agree with the government but a service that is primarily for the benefit of the lost, sick, crippled, distressed, or plain just overwhelmed is a bargain at pretty much any price. They do not work for profit. They do it because they volunteered. Yep, they do get paid, but we all have to eat and pay bills. Glad the old dude is okay, glad no one was injured in the rescue, sorry the boat was lost, but everyone at least has a story from it, extra training/skills and perhaps inspiration. Rock on, old dudes who go to the sea!


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## RichH (Jul 10, 2000)

A good estimate of the cost of CG rescue by helicopter can be equated to what it currently costs for land based medical emergency 'med-evac' flights .... about $13,000 to $16,000 per HOUR.


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## jzk (Feb 25, 2008)

1. I am not seeing the 15-18ft seas. Looks like that boat could have been sailed, but yes, perspective is different when you are 77.

2. Cost of the rescue? That is an interesting question. What do we mean by "cost?" Do we mean how much does it cost to have a coast guard divided by the rescues and other stuff they do? Or do we mean how much does an "incremental" rescue cost?

That is calculated as the overall total budget of the coast guard with this rescue minus what it would have been without it. I suspect that the real incremental cost of saving this guy is $0. Will the Coast Guard have spent more fuel because of this? Or would they have just used up their fuel budget some other way? Were these guys on "overtime" or would they have been paid for this time anyway. And, a real rescue is probably good supplemental training, right?

It is kind of like having a fire department. The cost is already there. If they put out a fire once in a while, does it really cost more?


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## Donna_F (Nov 7, 2005)

The cost of a rescue is also the reason why the USCG aggressively punishes with fines and jail term those who make false maydays. Until that mayday is determined to be false, a full SAR effort has to be initiated.


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