A kayaker was pulled from the frigid waters of San Francisco Bay Thursday afternoon after his kayak overturned near the Ferry Building, with rescuers eventually finding him beneath the Bay Bridge's westernmost column. The San Francisco Police Department's Marine Unit, its Drone as First Responder team, and the San Francisco Fire Department all converged on the scene to pull off the rescue.
Multiple 911 callers reported the capsized kayak late Thursday afternoon near the Ferry Building, according to Patch. One caller reported hearing someone under the westernmost column of the Bay Bridge, while a second caller said one kayaker wearing a life jacket had reached shore safely while his companion remained in the water, according to the New York Post. An SFPD Instagram video, per the Post, showed drone footage of the capsized kayak around 2:41 p.m.
Drone Guides Rescuers to the Overturned Kayak
SFPD's drone located the overturned kayak and a paddle, and a San Francisco Fire Department boat followed the drone to the scene, the Post reported. Marine Unit officers then found the man beneath the bridge and pulled him from the water, a rescue Patch's reporting corroborates. Officers transferred him to a Fire Department boat for immediate medical attention, the same report notes.
The Post's account said the kayak and paddle were recovered behind Fire Station 35. The sequence — multiple panicked calls, a drone search, and a water extraction beneath one of the bridge's support columns — underscores how quickly a calm paddle on the bay can turn into an emergency.
SFPD Urges Paddlers to Prepare Before Launching
In its Instagram post, SFPD wrote that the rescue was a reminder to prepare before heading out on the bay, warning that conditions can change quickly and that cold water and strong currents can endanger even experienced paddlers, per the Post's reporting. The department advised paddlers to wear a life jacket, carry a cell phone in a waterproof pouch or dry bag, check weather, tides and currents before launching, and tell others their trip itinerary.
Those warnings echo long-standing guidance from the Bay Water Trail, which notes that the bay is one of the world's busiest ports and is shaped by tides, currents and weather that can shift with little warning. Water temperatures in the bay range from 45 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit and can lead to death in as little as 30 minutes, the organization says, and it recommends wearing a Coast Guard-approved personal flotation device and informing someone of a trip plan before setting out. The U.S. Coast Guard has seen a rising trend in the number of people requiring assistance on the water.
A Pattern of Close Calls on the Bay
A Pattern of Close Calls on the Bay Rescuers have previously scrambled to pull paddlers from San Francisco Bay. On Memorial Day in 2023, the San Francisco Fire Department responded to multiple reports of overturned kayaks and rescued two adults and two children, according to KRON4. That rescue, coordinated with the U.S. Coast Guard and San Francisco Police, pulled a family from the water roughly 300 yards from Candlestick Point near Hunters Point; the two children were hospitalized for hypothermia while the adults were uninjured, and all four were expected to fully recover. A Coast Guard helicopter assisted, and the fire department said at the time it did not immediately know how the kayaks capsized, though it reported windy, choppy conditions in the area.
Boating safety on the bay has drawn renewed attention this year after a boat carrying 20 people, the Volare, capsized near Alcatraz Island in July, killing four people, as reported by CBS News. The Coast Guard has said San Francisco's sector is among its busiest for search-and-rescue operations because weather, tides and currents can change so rapidly, and that 87% of drowning victims in 2024 were not wearing a life jacket in cases where that detail was known.
Thursday's rescue also arrived just ahead of Fleet Week, which began Friday morning in San Francisco. The SFPD Marine Unit was set to participate in the parade of ships kicking off the annual celebration. Coast Guard crews planned to patrol the bay through the weekend, conducting safety checks, enforcing restricted areas and standing ready to respond to emergencies, with officers verifying that boaters carry required safety equipment including life jackets and sound-producing devices.
