U.S. Coast Guard crews from Tampa and Fort Myers were involved in the rescue of 15 people in two separate boating incidents on Saturday and Sunday in Southwest Florida waters.
On Sunday, seven boaters were rescued by a Fort Myers Beach U.S. Coast Guard crew after their boat took on water during inclement weather.
Seven adults and a child were rescued Saturday after their 28-foot boat boat capsized 36 miles off Boca Grande. Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg crews came to the rescue of these boaters.
No injuries were reported in either incident.
In Sunday's rescue, a crew from the U.S. Coast Guard Station Fort Myers Beach rescued seven boaters after their 25-foot boat took on water in inclement weather, eight miles west of Wiggins Pass.
The Station Fort Myers Beach crew transported the boaters & their vessel closer to shore.
In the Boca Grande incident Saturday, the Coast Guard in St. Petersburg received the boaters' distress call through VHF-FM channel 16, where the boaters reported that their vessel was sinking and activated an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon.
The Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew honed in on the signal of one of the boaters’ Personal Locator Beacons, spotted the devices' strobe lights and found all 8 people wearing their life jackets while holding onto a cooler.
Watch rescue
The aircrew hoisted each individual from the water and transported them to emergency medical services at Venice Municipal Airport.
"The boaters in distress carried close to every piece of lifesaving equipment we encourage the public to carry onboard their vessel,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Santiago Gomez, Coast Guard Public Affairs Detachment Tampa Bay. “Life jackets, an EPIRB, a PLB, visual signaling devices and a marine grade radio with VHF-FM channel 16 improve our Coast Guard crews’ abilities to locate mariners in distress and increase the chances of a positive outcome to bring them safely home. Today marks the beginning of the 2024 Atlantic Hurricane Season, and these safe boating practices make a difference year-round.”
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