VENTURA, Calif – Last night the Coast Guard responded to a vessel in distress at Santa Cruz Island. At approximately 11:03 p.m. the sailing vessel SEA SHINE radioed the Coast Guard advising that the vessel had run aground and was taking on water.
A Coast Guard HH-65C rescue helicopter from Air Station Los Angeles was dispatched to the scene. In addition, two response boats from Coast Guard Station Channel Islands responded.
A nearby boater responded to a flare fired by the sailor and stayed on scene until Coast Guard units arrived.
Once on scene Coast Guard rescuers observed the stranded vessel listing about 15% with its portside completely submerged. The sailor was transferred from the disabled sailboat to a Coast Guard response boat and then later transferred to Vessel Assist boat “RETRIEVER.” Both the sailor and the disabled sailboat were returned to Ventura Harbor.
In addition to carrying the required safety items and wearing life jackets, the Coast Guard recommends boaters equip their vessels with GPS, a marine band VHF radio, and 406 MHz Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon EPIRB. The Coast Guard would also like to remind boaters that after February 1, 2009, analog 121.5/243 MHz beacons will no longer be monitored by satellites and boaters need to replace them with digital 406 MHz beacons. For more information about the digital switch visit http://www.cospas-sarsat.org/firstpage/121.5phaseout.htm.
The U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary offers boating education classes and free Vessel Safety Checks. For more information visit www.cgaux.org or www.safetyseal.net .
