Ottawa-area adventurer Rudy Snel, left, was rescued by Drew Dazzo, right, who will be awarded the Star of Courage on Thursday. Scott Higgins, centre, also took part in the rescue. (CBC)An American search-and-rescue officer will receive Canada’s second-highest award for bravery Thursday for his role in saving a group of sailors who were stranded in a violent storm in 2007.

Petty Officer 2nd Class Drew Dazzo was a member of a U.S. Coast Guard team that helped rescue Ottawa-area adventurer Rudy Snel and two other sailors after they were caught in a storm off the coast of North Carolina in May 2007.

Dazzo will receive the Star of Courage from Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean at Rideau Hall when she officially recognizes 47 people for acts of bravery.

Snel and the others were sailing about 250 kilometres off the coast when they were caught in a subtropical storm that flipped and eventually sank their boat. The sailors hung on to what remained of their life-raft and worried that they might die as 20-metre waves crashed around them. Eventually, a U.S. Coast Guard vessel spotted the men and moved in to rescue them.

"It was surreal when they arrived," Snel said. "We didn’t think they could do it, the conditions were so extreme."

Rudy Snel and his crew-mates were spotted by the U.S. Coast Guard while clinging to the remains of a life-raft. Their boat had sunk during a subtropical storm. (U.S. Coast Guard)Snel told CBC News he remembers watching the helicopter hover as Dazzo dropped into the water on a steel cable. "He swam over to the raft, put his arm over the edge and said, 'How y'all doing?'"

The citation explaining why Dazzo is being awarded the medal says Dazzo displayed a high degree of courage and endurance and noted the rescue was performed in extreme weather and perilous conditions.

Dazzo, who injured his back when he was tossed by a massive wave during the rescue, said he didn’t understand the magnitude of the award when his boss first told him he would be honoured with the Star of Courage.

He said he only understood its importance when his boss compared it to the Silver Star, the third-highest military decoration that can be awarded to members of the U.S. armed forces.

Dazzo and Snel struck up a friendship after the rescue, and Snel said he will be a grateful spectator at Thursday’s ceremony.