Boaters Rescued Off Coast Of Half Moon Bay

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued two boaters who were adrift in a sailboat 77 miles off the California coast on Sunday, according to Coast Guard officials.

The boaters were on the sailboat Annie when they sustained damage from multiple storms nearly 80 miles southwest of Half Moon Bay, and initiated a distress signal through their Garmin GPS device, Coast Guard officials said.

Emergency crews received the message from the Garmin emergency operations team around 7:15 a.m. Sunday requesting assistance for the boaters.

Coast Guard officials said a plane crew from Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento and a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco were dispatched to the scene, which was in 6- to 12-foot swells.

The helicopter crew rescued the boaters as the plane circled overhead providing weather and position reports. The boaters were hoisted into the helicopter and then flown to the Coast Guard station at San Francisco International Airport, where San Francisco Fire Department crews met them.

Coast Guard officials said the boaters suffered minor injuries but will survive.

Your #SFFDSFO @flySFO units and #AMR assisting @USCG air operation with two injured victims they rescued 70 miles offshore after issues with their vessel and weather. Further media inquiries shall be directed @USCG PIO as this is all the info we have. The two adults will be okay. pic.twitter.com/aIT07vKovf
— San Francisco Fire (@sffdpio) September 23, 2018

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By Bay City News Service / IMAGE: The 37-foot sailboat Annie is shown adrift 77 miles southwest of Half Moon Bay before a Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew hoisted the two boaters into the helicopter. The boaters requested help after their vessel sustained damage during multiple storms. (U.S. Coast Guard photo /Released)