OBX Captain Buddy Callaway Rescues Eight From Sinking Boat During Bluefin Season

Capt. Buddy Callaway and his crew aboard the Capt. BC rescued eight people from the sinking charter boat No Limit off Nags Head on Feb. 3, 2026, then returned to Oregon Inlet Fishing Center where all eight were evaluated and reported uninjured. The Coast Guard intercepted and escorted the Capt. BC back to port roughly 15 miles from the inlet.

Callaway said the day began as a bluefin trip: “Ran down the beach for some giant bluefin tuna.” The outing came right after a snowfall and the cold, rough conditions made an already urgent flooding situation more dangerous for the No Limit’s passengers and crew.

According to Callaway, No Limit put out a call that it was taking on water in the bilge and needed pumps. Callaway described spotting the distressed boat “barely on the horizon,” then breaking off a fish and immediately altering course: “We hooked the fish and it was pretty much simultaneously, the fish we had on broke off, and he put out another call that he needed some help. He needed some pumps. It was an emergency. Went towards him as fast as we could.”

When rescuers arrived, No Limit had taken on enough water to disable electronics and communications and was “going under,” Callaway said. He reported all eight people were standing in the cockpit wearing life preservers: “Had them all together, had them on deck and they had their life preservers on.” The seas and the boat’s rapid sinking made coming alongside impossible, so the No Limit’s captain — identified only as “John” in some accounts and referenced as “Azato” in another source’s quote — directed passengers to enter the water and swim toward rescuing vessels.

The Coastland Times reported that Calloway and an individual identified only as Smith “successfully pulled seven individuals from the water onto their vessel,” while the second charter on scene, the Sportsman captained by Bert Sowell, rescued an eighth passenger and transferred that person to the Capt. BC. Callaway said crew wrapped the survivors in blankets and tended to them aboard the Capt. BC.

While the rescue was underway, a nearby vessel contacted the U.S. Coast Guard. After stabilizing the rescued people, Calloway turned for shore and the Coast Guard intercepted and escorted the Capt. BC back to Oregon Inlet Fishing Center about 15 miles from the inlet. Emergency personnel evaluated all eight for cold-water exposure; no injuries were reported.

Video stills and photos attributed to Buddy Calloway and footage taken from the Sportsman show passengers jumping or swimming to the Capt. BC as the No Limit sank quickly. Callaway reflected on how rapidly the situation could have deteriorated: “Things could have been very different — in a bad way, very quickly,” and added credit to the No Limit’s captain: “But John himself is a fine captain and he’s the main reason everybody survived.”