NC Ferry Crew Lauded For September Sailboat Rescue

Saturday, January 11, 2014 - 12:38 Press Release

NC Transportation Board Member Malcolm Fearing, Randy Keith Willis, William Daniel Smith, NC Transportation Board Chairman Edward Curran, David Paul Styron, Joseph Paul Morris, Captain Stephen Goodwin, NCDOT Secretary Tony Tata

M/V Cedar Island captain & crew receive “Extra Mile Award.”

North Carolina Department of Transportation Secretary Tony Tata awarded the department’s Extra Mile Award Thursday to a state ferry crew that rescued two boaters in rough seas last September.

The captain and crew of the M/V Cedar Island came to the aid of John and Renee Hoffman of Black Mountain, NC after their sailboat capsized in Big Foot Slough near Ocracoke on September 26, 2013. At the time, seas were running 4-5 feet and winds were gusting to 30 knots.

“These men are true heroes,” said Tata during the presentation at the Board of Transportation meeting in Raleigh. “Their daring rescue of two boaters in Pamlico Sound exemplifies the training and dedication of all our ferry crews. I’m proud to be giving them this award today.”

Crew members receiving the award were Captain Stephen Goodwin, Mates Glenn Salter, Daniel Smith, Joseph Paul Morris, and Randy Keith Willis, Chief Engineer Claude Gary Gilliken, and Oiler David Paul Styron.

In a post on the NC Ferry System’s Facebook page, Renee Hoffman wrote “My husband and I will be forever grateful to Capt. Goodwin and his crew for their professionalism and determination that night when the weather turned very bad very fast. The State of North Carolina is lucky to have such good people working on behalf of our citizens.”