One person was taken to the hospital with non life-threatening injuries, police said. Watch video
MANASQUAN -- A man was injured when his sailboat slammed into a rock jetty off Manasquan's beach on Wednesday afternoon as hundreds of onlookers watched in shock and disbelief.
Eyewitnesses and rescuers said the man, whose identity was not immediately available, appeared to be disoriented after he first appeared to be asleep at the helm of a sailboat in the Atlantic Ocean.
Beach patrol supervisor Mike Hurden said the incident occurred around 2 p.m. as the sailboat, under power but with its sails down, was traveling north off the coast of Manasquan.
Johne Ringo of Manasquan said he was sitting on the beach with his cousin Michael Long Jr. when he noticed the boat make a sharp turn west and head directly toward the jetty just north of Main Street Beach.
He said that they first noticed the boat when it was about 300 yards offshore. When it made the turn and was about 150 yards closer, the sailor appeared to be slumped over at the wheel but facing the horizon as the boat was headed toward shore, Ringo said.
Because the man appeared not to notice he was headed for the jetty, the cousins darted to the end of the rocks and yelled to get the sailor's attention, Ringo said.
"We kind of yelled. We tried to wake him up," Ringo said. "We were yelling, 'Hey! Hey!' trying to get his attention."
Seconds later, the boat hit the rock jetty head on. Ringo said he doesn't know whether the impact or the yells got the sailor's attention, but that as the boat hit the jetty, the sailor tried in vain to steer away from rocks.
The boat, pounded by waves, became lodged against the rocks just as low tide was approaching, Ringo and Hurden said.
Lifeguard Doug Anderson, who was with fellow lifeguard Tim Farrell, said they watched in incredulity as the scene unfolded. As the boat got closer to shore, Anderson said, he radioed beach patrol headquarters and then took off with Farrell toward the scene.
Soon at least another eight lifeguards joined them.
Farrell said that when they reached him, the sailor appeared confused. They instructed him to use the boat's swim ladder off the stern to get off the ship, which was still being pounded by waves, he said. As the man stepped into the water, a large wave tossed all of them about but they managed to get him to shore and onto a rescue vehicle, Farrell said.
The New Jersey State Police Marine Unit, U.S. Coast Guard and Manasquan Police Department also responded to the scene. Sgt. Jeff Flynn, a State Police spokesman, said the man was taken to Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune with non life-threatening injuries.
A lifeguard also sustained a superficial wound from the rocks, Hurden said.
"The guards were amazing," Hurden said.
Beachgoer Jason O'Brien of Newton was sitting with his family when he noticed the boat heading closer and closer to shore.
"When he hit, it hit pretty hard," O'Brien said. "The boat got locked in the rocks."
His 13-year-old son, Kyle O'Brien, said the sailor was holding onto the wheel at the time of the crash but then got tossed violently about the deck of the ship, which appeared to be about 30 feet long.
Several hours later at high tide, the boat was battered against the rocks and sinking.
NJ Advance Media reporter Alex Napoliello contributed to this report.
MaryAnn Spoto may be reached at mspoto@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @MaryAnnSpoto. Find NJ.com on Facebook.