NEAH BAY — A Coast Guard boat crew saved three men after their vessel capsized near Makah Bay’s Strawberry Rock on Monday.
A 47-foot motor lifeboat crew from Coast Guard Station Neah Bay pulled the three men off their overturned vessel and transported them to the station where emergency medical services personnel were waiting to treat the men for reported symptoms of hypothermia.
The rescue came after personnel at Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound received a mayday call from one of the boaters around 10:45 a.m. stating they had an emergency and were in the vicinity of Strawberry Rock, just outside of Makah Bay on the Pacific Ocean side of the Makah reservation.
The Coast Guard used the information to direct the lifeboat crew to search the area. They found the three men and the capsized boat.
“These boaters probably survived because they were wearing lifejackets and had a VHF radio on-board to broadcast mayday,” said Chief Petty Officer Raymond Anderson, executive petty officer, Station Neah Bay.
“Emergency preparation like we saw in today’s case is every boater’s responsibility.”
The water temperature at the time of the rescue was reportedly 52 degrees.
