U.S. Coast Guard crews rescued a man whose 14-foot boat capsized and was taking on water south of Alameda on Sep. 11 afternoon.
The man made a mayday broadcast around 4 p.m. but watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector San Francisco were unable to get further information from him because of a language barrier.
Crews used Rescue 21, the Coast Guard’s advanced direction-finding system, to determine the man’s approximate location, then issued an urgent marine information broadcast while dispatching crews by air and on a 20-foot boat, according to the Coast Guard.
A ferry captain heard the broadcast and voluntarily diverted to provide the vessel’s exact location. The Coast Guard boat crew arrived at about 4:25 p.m. and pulled the man out of the water.
He was taken to Alameda Landing, where his wife was waiting, and had no reported injuries, Coast Guard officials said.
A commercial salvage company eventually removed the vessel from the water, according to the Coast Guard.
Friends Read Free