GROSSE POINTE SHORES, Mich. – Two boats collided Sunday morning on Lake St. Clair just off Grosse Pointe Shores, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
Coast Guard officials said the captain of a 406-foot cargo vessel, the Esta Desgagnes, a Canadian-flagged vessel home-ported in Quebec, immediately contacted the Coast Guard after colliding with a 17-foot recreational boat around 11:15 a.m.
The operator of the recreation boat was launched into the water.
Recommended Videos
When a crew got to the man, he was clinging to a buoy, the Coast Guard said.
The recreational boat was damaged and sank just outside the channel.
The man was uninjured.
The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the collision.
“We were relieved to be able to recover the small boat operator unharmed,” Coast Guard Lt. Ben Chamberlain said. “It is our hope that recreational boaters will maintain situational awareness to avoid these kinds of scenarios when enjoying the beauty of the Great Lakes. We also continue to implore boaters to wear their life jackets. No one plans for these kinds of emergencies to happen to them, but when they do occur, wearing a life jacket can be the difference between life and death.”