Coast Guard rescues two people from sinking sailboat
Photo courtesy U.S. Coast Guard.
Two people were rescued Saturday afternoon from their sailboat after it began taking water in San Francisco Bay south of the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, the U.S. Coast Guard said.
The Coast Guard's Sector San Francisco command center watchstanders received a call at 1:31 p.m Saturday from the operator of a 16-foot sailboat reporting that the boat had begun taking on water in the waters off of Point Richmond.
A Coast Guard crew in a 45-foot response boat-departed Alameda at 1:38 p.m. and reached the sinking sailboat at about 2 p.m., and rescued both people from the sailboat. Those people were taken to the Richmond Marina "with no reported medical concerns," the Coast Guard said. The sailboat's owner was helped by a fellow boater in removing the disabled craft from the water.
"This case was able to be resolved quickly due to good communication between the mariners and our watchstanders," said U.S. Coast Guard Cmdr. Tim List, the Sector San Francisco search and rescue mission coordinator. "The Coast Guard recommends all boaters have a VHF radio that can tune to channel 16. Additionally, we recommend a fully charged cell phone as a backup in the event of an emergency on the water."