U.S. Coast Guard members boat into the Mattituck Inlet Monday morning. (Credit: Joseph Pinciaro)
The U.S. Coast Guard recovered the body of a missing boater east of Mattituck Inlet Monday morning, one day after he was reported missing in the Long Island Sound, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
Ciro Stellges was found at 8:10 a.m. after a 19-hour search that covered more than 400 square miles.
Mr. Stellges, 59, of Selden called police just after 12 p.m. Sunday, saying his boat was taking on water three miles off the shore, police said. The 911 call was then used to estimate his position in the waters off Northville.
Mr. Stellges had launched from Mattituck and was en route to Port Washington, operating a 26-foot fiberglass sailboat named “MAC,” police said.
The Riverhead Police Dive Rescue Team and Suffolk County Police Department Aviation and Marine units initially started the search for the sailboat and searched the area near Iron Pier Beach for two and a half hours, Riverhead police Lt. David Lessard said.
“It was difficult sea conditions,” Lt. Lessard said. “Three- to four-foot seas, whitecaps all over.”
The Coast Guard took over operations mid-Sunday afternoon and continued to search the area, he said. Jamesport and Wading River fire departments were on standby.
A missing persons report was filed Sunday, and a Coast Guard spokesperson said two 45-foot boats and a helicopter were used to search for the missing sailboat. The search continued overnight, he said.
Members of the U.S. Coast Guard boated into Mattituck Inlet shortly before 10 a.m. Monday, meeting members of the Southold and Riverhead police departments at a DEC boat launch ramp in the inlet.
Police officers taped off the area and blocked off public access.
Police were also on scene at Breakwater Beach and Mattituck Inlet Marina on Monday morning.
Marina owner Jim Pape said Sunday’s conditions made sailing on the Sound — particularly the south side of the Sound — very difficult.
“Yesterday was not a nice day,” he said. Mr. Pape added that on days with a north wind, sailing near the Connecticut coast is preferable, whereas when a southern wind is blowing, sailing across the Long Island coast is easier.
Sunday’s winds were blowing from the northwest.
The National Weather Service issued a small craft advisory from Sunday through 11 a.m. Monday to alert boaters of the conditions. Mr. Pape said winds over 10 knots make sailing difficult on the Sound; gusts of up to 30 to 35 knots blew on Sunday, he said.