A 68-year-old Shirley man nearly drowned Wednesday morning after his kayak swamped in Great South Bay and his chest waders filled with water, dragging him under about a quarter mile from Sore Thumb Beach. Good Samaritans managed to get him onto a sandbar and kept him there until Suffolk County Marine Bureau officers arrived by boat, pulling him from the water semiconscious.
According to News12 New York, Suffolk Marine Bureau officers responded to a 911 call around 11 a.m. reporting a boater in distress. Officers Christopher Maggio, Thomas Ciota, Kyle Profit and Brendan Grogan waded through knee-deep water to reach the man, who was clamming at the time his watercraft became swamped. He was strapped to a backboard for removal from the water and transported to land aboard the vessel Marine Juliet before being taken to South Shore University Hospital in Bay Shore for treatment.
The rescue happened near Gilgo State Park off Sore Thumb Beach in the Town of Babylon, according to Greater Long Island, which detailed how bystanders kept the man on the sandbar until the marine unit reached him and ferried him to shore in Babylon. The rescue took place in Great South Bay, near Sore Thumb Beach.
Sore Thumb Beach and Fire Island Inlet
The US Harbors account describes Sore Thumb as a structure at the mouth of Fire Island Inlet and refers to flushing currents there.
Wearing chest waders in a kayak carries a risk that safety messages warn boaters about. The DVIDS safety message stresses that waders are not enough and urges boaters and sportsmen to wear a life jacket.
Second Clamming Emergency in Two Weeks
This is not an isolated incident for Great South Bay clammers. Less than two weeks earlier, on September 10, a 48-year-old clammer lost consciousness in the bay off Tanner Park in Copiague and was rescued by a bystander and police before being hospitalized in serious condition, as previously reported. Tanner Park is another popular shallow clamming spot in the same bay system.
Boating Safety
The rescue took place Wednesday, September 23, 2026. Safety officials urge boaters and sportsmen to wear a life jacket.
Brianna's Law, effective January 1, 2025, requires operators of motorized vessels in state waters to hold a boating safety certificate, according to Boat Ed.
Clam populations in Great South Bay have declined sharply over past decades due to overharvesting and environmental pressures.
