Teen airlifted from sailboat off Cape Cod

By Globe Staff

A 16-year-old boy was airlifted from a sailboat in the waters 125 miles southeast of Cape Cod after his father became concerned he was suffering from the effects of dehydration, the Coast Guard said.

A Jayhawk rescue helicopter and Falcon jet were dispatched and arrived at the sailboat Why Not at 4:39 p.m. Thursday, the Coast Guard said in a statement. The helicopter crew hoisted the boy aboard and took him back to land, where he was taken by paramedics to Falmouth Hospital for further treatment.

"The sailing vessel was far off shore and his father was very concerned about his condition," Lieutenant Josh Harrington, operations duty officer at Air Station Cape Cod, said in a statement. "We consulted with the flight surgeon and were glad we could get this young man to a facility where he can get proper medial attention."

The Coast Guard statement did not say how the boy became dehydrated.