Crew Rescued from Stranded Sailboat in Pacifica
PACIFICA (CBS SF) -- Four people were hospitalized with minor injuries late Saturday night after their boat drifted onto shore at a Pacifica beach.
The incident began around 11:05 p.m. when officers and fire personnel responded to a report of sailboat in distress near Linda Mar Beach.
There, they found that a 33-foot sailboat called the Hecate had run aground on the beach.
The boat's occupants were described as a 24-year-old Spokane, Washington man, a 33-year-old Crescent City woman, a 49-year-old Long Creek, Oregon woman and a 20-year-old woman also from Spokane.
The four received medical assistance at the scene and were then taken to a hospital, police said.
One of the passengers was seven months pregnant and was kept overnight, but on Sunday said she and her baby were fine. She did say she would probably not sail again until after the baby is born.
The boat's owners said they were experiencing engine problems before the boat drifted ashore.
A passerby involved in the rescue told KPIX the crew had been sailing for 11 hours, trying to get to San Diego but the motor stopped and the boat couldn't get past the breakwater.
"One guy jumped off the boat, he was fine," said Pacifica resident Heiko Gieratahs. "Then a lady jumped off and kinda landed on her face so I ran into the surfline and pulled her out and then the other two people left -- jumped off with their dog -- and that was it," he added.
Gieratahs said it felt good to be at the right place at the right time to be able to help.
On Sunday, the captain of the Hecate, Tony Claar, said that one of the passengers was not a good swimmer and could easily have drowned if the ship had sunk before reaching the beach.
Claar said the boat has thousands of dollars of damage and that the vessel would be towed to Sausalito sometime on Monday.
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