A fishing boat captain suffering from a possible stroke was rescued off the Chincoteague coast March 26 by the U.S. Coast Guard and flown to a New Jersey hospital.

The U.S. Coast Guard received an alert that the captain of a 75-foot trawler Capt Nathan was suffering from stroke symptoms, said Petty Officer First Class Joe Watford. The captain and two others were on the fishing boat 50 miles east of Chincoteague.

A helicopter crew arrived and hoisted the captain from the boat before flying him to Cape May Airport in New Jersey. Another helicopter airlifted the man to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Atlantic City, N.J. No further information was available on the captain’s condition.

"The quick actions and critical thinking of all Coast Guard units and the crew of the fishing boat resulted in locating the mariner and bringing him to the medical care he needed as quickly as possible," Watford said.