60-year-old Connecticut woman plucked from water after her kayak flips

A 60-year-old Connecticut woman kayaking in the L.I. Sound this morning was rescued by the Coast Guard and Suffolk County Police about five miles off Roanoke Point in Riverhead.

Martha Bailey, of Cheshire, Connecticut, was thrown into the water when her kayak tipped over, police said.

Bailey made a radio notification and activated a position beacon at approximately 10:27 a.m., police said.

Suffolk Police aviation section officers Frank Cooper and Richard Davin, along with Flight Paramedic Peter Leonard, responded in a Suffolk County Police helicopter and were able to locate Bailey at 11:08 a.m. hanging on to her kayak and wearing a lifejacket, Suffolk Police said. The helicopter crew directed Marine Delta and the Coast Guard vessel to Bailey’s location. Both units arrived and Bailey was taken aboard the Coast Guard vessel to their New Haven station for medical evaluation.

Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound received a call from a female voice saying, ‘Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, kayaker in the water,” Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Frank St. Pierre, the command duty officer at Sector Long Island Sound.

The woman called again and said she could not get back on her kayak, which she said was red.

The Suffolk County helicopter crew was first on scene and was able to make contact with the kayaker via her handheld radio. Shortly after, the Coast Guard rescue boat crew arrived on scene and assisted the kayaker out of the water.

Once recovered from the water, Station New Haven crewmembers assessed her condition and determined that she was in good health and not in need of medical assistance.

“Her preparedness was a major factor in us rescuing her today,” St. Pierre said. “We hope that others who are looking to go out on the water take into consideration that they should be prepared for the worst, because being prepared could help save your life.”

Bailey and her kayak were brought back to Station New Haven, Connecticut.