ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Three people were rescued by the Coast Guard after their boat started taking on water 35 miles west of Anclote, Florida, Wednesday.
At 10:44 a.m. watchstanders from Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg received a mayday call via VHF-FM marine band radio channel 16 reporting three people aboard a 22-foot unable to keep up with flooding.
A 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boat crew from Station Sand Key, Florida, was launched. A C-130 Hercules fixed winged aircraft air crew from Air Station Clearwater, Florida, and a Coast Guard Auxiliary boatcrew conducting training operations heard the mayday call and diverted to the location of the people in distress.
The Hercules air crew dropped a dewatering pump to the distressed boaters, and the Coast Guard Auxiliary crew placed the boat in tow. The Auxiliary crew transferred the tow to the RB-M boat crew. The three people and the boat were safely transported to the Anclote boat ramp with no reported injuries.