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The woman fell from the boat some time before 3:30 p.m., unbeknownst to the boat's captain, who carried on sailing to Stamford until he noticed his passenger was not on board, Greenwich police said.
He called 911, and the Greenwich Police Department's Marine Section responded and soon found out the passenger had been picked up by a passing paddle boater.
The overboard passenger -- said to be in her 50s by Greenwich police -- was unharmed and taken to Island Beach, police said. Although exhausted, she declined medical treatment, police said.
The couple are Stamford residents who dock their boat in Greenwich, police said. On Sunday, they had been out on the Sound within Greenwich's waters, police said.
As they began to make for Stamford Harbor for dinner, they were in separate parts of the boat, police said. The captain was operating the vessel from the flybridge, and the passenger was near the stern, police said. She was not wearing her personal flotation device and was tidying up their gear, police said.
She told police she lost her footing and fell overboard when the boat hit a large wake from another vessel. The captain never noticed his companion went overboard and continued into the area of Tod's Point, when he realized she wasn't on the boat and made his 911 call.
The woman believes that she was in the water for 20 to 30 minutes before she was rescued, police said.
Greenwich police marine officers conducted a safety inspection and found the vessel and captain in complete compliance.
This latest marine rescue is the second save in Greenwich waters this season, police said. On the evening of July 20, Greenwich police officers rescued a woman who was wearing a personal floatation device when her kayak capsized.
In Sunday's incident, the victim was not wearing a personal floatation device, and with a slightly different set of circumstance, this oversight could have proven fatal, police said.
Connecticut marine law requires that people age 13 or younger must wear a personal floatation device at all times. For those over 13 there is no such requirement, only that a personal floatation device be readily accessible for all boaters. However, routinely wearing a life jacket is an excellent safety practice, police said.
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