The Coast Guard in San Francisco received a distress call from the crew of the 31-foot commercial fishing vessel TWO SONS, Wednesday, July 20, about eight miles west of the Golden Gate Bridge. Reports informed the Coast Guard that the vessel was taking on water with two people on board. The boat operator reported that the rate of flooding far exceeded the rate at which the crew could discharge the water from the vessel using the onboard dewatering equipment.
Sector San Francisco launched a helicopter rescue crew, a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat, and the Coast Guard Cutter TERN to assist the distressed fishing vessel. The TERN arrived on the scene and placed two of their own crewmembers onboard the TWO SONS, along with more dewatering equipment. The crewmembers were able to get one dewatering pump started, and succeeded in completely dewatering the vessel.
Boaters should not hesitate to call for help in times of need or danger, and ought to have safety equipment such as life jackets, flares, and safety whistles that can help expedite Coast Guard response in the event of an emergency.