BRUNSWICK, Ga. (AP) -- The Coast Guard says a man and his cat are safe after they were rescued from a sinking sailboat off the Georgia coast.

Kevin Savage and his cat, Tommy Girl, were sailing 38 miles off the coast from Brunswick when their boat began taking on water as the ocean was whipped by gusty winds. Coast Guard officials say the conditions automatically activated an emergency radio beacon aboard the 37-foot sailboat Friday morning.

The Coast Guard launched a helicopter rescue crew from its station in Savannah. The crew hoisted Savage and his cat from the sinking boat. Neither were injured.

Cmdr. Gregory Fuller, commander of Coast Guard Air Station Savannah, says the rescue shows that ocean-going boats of any size should be equipped with emergency radio beacons.

AP-WF-01-19-13 0904GMT