Beautiful weather and calm seas kept Coast Guard search and rescue coordinators at Coast Guard Sector Key West, Fla., along with small boat stations and partner agencies busy Saturday, responding to several separate distress calls and resulting in 13 lives assisted throughout the keys.
Calls started coming in shortly after 10 a.m. and included a run-away flats boat with people in the water, a boat fire, an overdue three-person kayak, and a missing jetskier.
Coast Guard Station Key West, Fla. and Coast Guard Station Islamorada, Fla. responded with rescue boatcrews, in addition to other partner agencies responding throughout the string of calls requesting assistance.
Good Samaritans in the area helped rescue people from the water, and recovered the missing jetskier.
May 22-28 is National Safe Boating Week and the Coast Guard reminds all boaters to be safe, wear their life jackets, and have all required and recommended safety gear onboard their vessel. In addition to being safe on the water the Coast Guard recommends boaters consider taking a boater safety course given by the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
To learn when the next course will be offered in the area, you can contact the Auxiliary at 1 (888) 470-5566 ext 1.
