On Saturday around 7:47pm, the Greenwich Police Marine Section responded off the shore of the Bell Haven Club on a report of a female who fell overboard from a sailboat and into the water. It was reported that she was holding onto a buoy and could not get back onto the sailboat.
Officer Turcsanyi and Officer Greco immediately responded to the area in Greenwich Police Boat 139. It was past sunset and very dark on the Long Island Sound.
Upon their arrival, just north of Calf Island, they noticed a white strobe light coming from a sailboat. As they approached, a male within the boat identified himself as Jurij Savyckj, and related that his friend had fallen into the water and was holding onto a mooring. He then shined his flashlight toward an adjacent mooring.
Officer Turcsanyi drove the Police boat toward the mooring and stopped a few feet away.
Officers spotted a female who was clinging to the mooring to avoid drowning. They threw her a life ring and directed her to grab it. She followed the instructions and was pulled up onto the Police boat. The female identified herself as Helen Fedoriw.
She appeared very tired and weak and said that she had been in the water clinging to the mooring for approximately 15 minutes. She was originally on her friend’s sailboat when she lost her balance and fell into the water. She was unable to get back on the sailboat and swam to a nearby mooring.
Fedoriw requested to be brought back to her friend’s sailboat and was transported back, where the Officer’s helped her re-board the sailboat. Savycj related that he tried to wave down other boaters to help, but no boats stopped. He then called Greenwich Police on his cell phone and was grateful for their quick response.
The Police boat then followed the sailboat back to Greenwich Boat and Yacht Club where they docked the boat without incident.
There were no injuries reported and no medical aid was requested.