ALAMEDA, Calif. – A Good Samaritan rescued four people from the water today after their 14-foot pleasure craft capsized two nautical miles southwest of the Richmond Marina.
The U.S. Coast Guard received a distress call from a Good Samaritan at 11:38 a.m., who witnessed a 14-foot pleasure craft capsize with two adults and two children on board. After making the call, the Good Samaritan, onboard the recreational boat Relentless, rescued the four individuals and pulled them onboard to safety. The four individuals did not require medical attention and were transferred to a Coast Guard 41-foot vessel that deployed from Coast Guard Station San Francisco. It was discovered that only the children onboard the capsized vessel were wearing lifejackets
This incident serves as a reminder to the boating public to ensure there is a lifejacket available for every person onboard the vessel and to wear the lifejackets while underway, regardless of the weather conditions. In this case, the boat capsized in two to three-foot swells near Richmond Marina. Additionally, today’s approximate water temperature in San Francisco Bay is 62 degrees (Fahrenheit). Exposure to water of this temperature for more than one hour may result in hypothermia, unconsciousness or possibly death.
As we approach a holiday weekend where there may be more vessels on the water than usual, members of the boating public are reminded to always wear a life jacket, reduce risk factors, file a float plan with a friend or family member and have a working VHF-FM radio and electronic position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) on board. Doing these simple tasks could save your live or the life of your passengers.
Additional information on safe and secure boating practices can be found at the Coast Guard’s Office of Boating Safety page at http://www.uscgboating.org/.
