Boat crew rescued after 34-foot vessel loses sail during Hurricane Debby

Two adrift boaters whose 34-foot vessel lost its sail 73 miles off the coast of Florida during Hurricane Debby were rescued by a US Coast Guard helicopter, newly-released video shows.

Dramatic footage showed the pair wearing life jackets as their sailboat, with its main sail down, bobbed in turbulent waters.

A Coast Guard rescuer was lowered on a line from a helicopter to carry out the rescue.

Debby has reached the Big Bend coast of Florida and could bring record-setting rain to Georgia and South Carolina as the storm heads east.

The boaters were taken to Air Station Clearwater with no reported injuries, the coast guard confirmed.