Sector St. Petersburg watch standers received a mayday call at 8:27 a.m. via VHF-FM radio channel 16 from one of the five boaters who stated the boat was flooding.
A 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Station Cortez and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Clearwater launched. The RB-M boat crew arrived on scene at 10:05 a.m. and assisted the distressed boaters with the flooding. Once the flooding was controlled, the boat crew provided escort to Big Sarasota Pass Inlet.
"By using their VHF radio, these boaters were able to quickly contact the Coast Guard and relay their position," stated Chief Petty Officer William Wells, a command duty officer at Sector St. Petersburg. “The Coast Guard highly recommends equipping fishing and recreational vessels with a VHF radio."
No injuries were reported.
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