MONTAUK, N.Y. — A New York Coast Guard petty officer has been relieved of command after dramatic photos surfaced on the Internet of two rescue boats training in heavy surf generated by Hurricane Bill off the eastern end of Long Island.
A Coast Guard commander told Newsday that Chief Petty Officer James Weber put his boats and crews in a dangerous situation during the August storm.
One spectacular picture showed one of the $1.2 million boats half out of the water with its bow pointed skyward as it flew over the top of a cresting swell near Montauk.
Coast Guard Capt. Daniel Ronan said neither Weber nor the skipper of a second boat was properly qualified to operate in surf that high.
Weber could still be reinstated if he appeals.
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