A Coast Guard patrol boat, returning to San Diego after six weeks in a San Francisco drydock, diverted three miles to rescue a swamped recreational boat off Mission Beach, a guardsman said Monday.
“After being out of the water for six weeks, we were able to seamlessly transition back to operations and assist a boater in need just outside of San Diego Bay,” said Lt. Katie Spira, commanding officer of the Haddock, in a statement.
Recreational boaters on a 35-foot vessel that began taking on water about two miles off the Mission Bay entrance were rescued, according to officials.
Coast Guard radio operators received a call from the boat shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday, according to Coast Guard public affairs officials.
Cutter Haddock, near the end of a 500-mile transit back to homeport after a six-week dry dock period in San Francisco, was about three miles southwest of the boat and diverted.
The Haddock put a machinery technician onto the boat to help pump out the water. San Diego Lifeguards towed the vessel to Mission Bay, while the pumps helped control the flooding.
Lifeguards safely moored the vessel in Mission Bay at about 6 p.m. There were no injuries.
“I’m constantly amazed by what this crew is able to accomplish,” the commander said.
“By embodying the Coast Guard’s creed of ‘Semper Paratus’ we were able to help those in need during this important holiday weekend,” Spira said.
Haddock is an 87-foot patrol boat homeported in San Diego.
—City News Service
