4 Boaters Rescued On Lake Champlain

Colchester, Vermont’s Police Marine Unit. Photo/Colchester Police.

Four people were rescued from a sinking boat on Lake Champlain after the vessel reportedly struck a reef on Friday.

According to police department officials in Colchester, Vermont, they received a report of a vessel taking on water with four people on board south of Sunset Island on Lake Champlain at 3:28 p.m. on Friday, July 25.

A Colchester Police Marine Unit arrived on the scene at 3:38 p.m. to find a 26-foot vessel taking on water. All four of the occupants of the vessel reported no injuries and were transferred from their vessel to the police vessel.

Three of the occupants were safely transported back to land while the captain stayed on the vessel.

The captain, Normand St. Pierre, 57, of Quebec, said he was navigating from Canada to Burlington. He said he believed he was clear from any hazards in the area, but his boat struck an area known as Hogback Reef, which is located southwest of Sunset Island.

A passenger said she was able to read “Danger” printed on the buoy that marks this reef.

The boat was towed to Champlain Marina, where it was lifted out of the water to keep it from sinking due to the damage to the hull caused in the crash.

Police officials said the lake level has dropped recently, and some hazards that might have been passable in May are now much closer to the surface.