SEATTLE – The Coast Guard rescued two people and four dogs from a vessel taking on water 1.5 miles east of Point No Point in Puget Sound, Tuesday night.
A Coast Guard Station Seattle crewmember plugged a hull in the vessel and used a dewatering pump to stabilize the situation before the remainder of the rescue crew towed the boat, people and pets to Edmonds Marina.
Watchstanders in the Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound command center responded to a call for help from the captain of a 26-foot pleasure craft, at about 8:30 p.m., reporting his vessel was taking on water. The watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast requesting assistance from any mariners in the area and also diverted a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Sector Field Office/Air Station Port Angeles and launched a crew aboard a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium from Station Seattle.
The crew of the Victoria Clipper, a catamaran-style passenger vessel was in the area and stood by with the pleasure craft in case of a abandon ship situation. The Dolphin aircrew arrived on scene at about 9 p.m., and the RBM boat crew arrived on scene at about 9:20 p.m.
A crewmember, from the RBM, climbed aboard the distressed vessel with a P-6 dewatering pump, located a hole in the stern of the vessel and plugged it before dewatering nearly 2 feet of water from the vessel. The boat crew then took the vessel in tow and safely towed it to Edmonds Marina.
On scene weather conditions were 5mph winds, 1-foot seas and a water and air temperature of about 55 degrees.