This from today’s news in San Diego, CA. BTW: The WX for the most part of the last 48 hrs has been small craft warnings with an occasional gale. This fellow (solo it appears) was somewhere along Baja California's Northern Bight and I'd bet it's probably plenty rough out there about now. Nick "Julia Bell" C-27 #86 COAST GUARD RESCUES AILING MAN FROM BOAT (03-14-2002) - An ailing man aboard a sailboat that could not make it to shore because of rough seas was rescued by a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter. Coast Guard public affairs Lt. Pete Melnick said that Helmut Quante contacted them at approximately 10:30 a.m. Thursday reporting that he was losing feeling in his legs after suffering a severe pinched nerve in his back. An HH-60 Jayhawk helicopter rescued Quante from his boat, which was anchored 180 nautical miles south of San Diego. The crew, which took off from the Coast Guard's base on North Harbor Drive, fought stiff winds and high seas in the rescue. "The pilots remarked that the extreme weather made the (operation) very difficult and challenging," the lieutenant said. When the crew reached Quante's boat, they instructed him to get into the water. A Coast Guard rescue swimmer jumped in and Quante was hoisted up to the helicopter. When the crew returned at approximately 3 p.m., Quante was taken to Kaiser Hospital for treatment.