LOS ANGELES – Four people were rescued by the Coast Guard and Baywatch Lifeguard units after their boat began taking on water seven miles west of Point Vicente, Calif., at around 12:30 a.m., Sept. 1, 2013.
Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach Command Center received a call via marine band radio at around 11:50 p.m., August 31, stating that the 65-foot recreational boat was taking on water.
Search and rescue watch standers at the Sector Command Center instructed the boaters to put on their life jackets and then quickly dispatched rescue resources including boats from Coast Guard Station Los Angeles, Baywatch Marina Del Rey and Baywatch Cabrillo, and a helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles.
Rescue crews arrived and placed a dewatering pump aboard the boat. Two Coast Guard crew members and a Baywatch lifeguard boarded the boat and dewatered it using the pump. Baywatch took the vessel in tow to Marina Del Rey. The vessel was safely moored at 3:20 a.m., and no medical assistance was needed for the persons on board.
The marine environment can be unpredictable and unforgiving. This case is an example of how carrying proper safety equipment, a reliable means of communication and knowing how to use them, can keep boaters safe if they are faced with an emergency at sea.
