Three boaters are safe after a passing vessel pulled them from a burning boat taking on water off Stinson Beach last Friday, with the good Samaritan reaching them before Coast Guard crews could even arrive on scene. The vessel later sank, and the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Coast Guard watchstanders received a distress call just before noon on Oct. 30, according to CBS News, after a good Samaritan reported spotting a vessel emitting smoke roughly five miles west of Stinson Beach. Someone aboard the stricken boat was seen waving their arms, the outlet reports. The Coast Guard launched both a lifeboat crew and a helicopter crew in response, but by the time rescuers arrived, the good Samaritan vessel had already pulled all three boaters to safety.
Boaters Handed Off at Pier 45, No Injuries Reported
Coast Guard crew members transferred the rescued boaters to their lifeboat and brought them to Pier 45, the same pier from which the vessel had departed, per the station's report. None of the three sustained injuries requiring care. A separate DVIDS release confirms that a 47-foot Coast Guard motor lifeboat crew responded and transferred the three boaters to Pier 45 following the Oct. 30 rescue off the San Francisco coast.
The vessel's master told the Coast Guard that water rapidly entered through an engine compartment on the stern side, and reported that the boat eventually sank after everyone had been pulled off, according to the same account. The cause of the fire and the sinking is still under investigation, and no further details on the vessel or its occupants have been released.
Similar Rescues Elsewhere Show the Risks of Boat Fires at Sea
Fires aboard vessels at sea have forced dramatic rescues elsewhere in recent years. In August 2024, the Coast Guard rescued six people after a fire broke out aboard the fishing vessel Three Girls, forcing the crew to abandon ship roughly 105 nautical miles east of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, according to DVIDS. Those six survivors were safely transferred to a pier in South Portland, Maine, the following morning.
A 2009 incident described by The Daily Astorian saw two fishermen scramble off the 60-foot fishing vessel Portlock after its cabin caught fire about 10 miles off Long Beach, Washington. Air Station Astoria launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew while Station Cape Disappointment sent a 47-foot motor lifeboat crew to assist, and the Coast Guard Captain of the Port of Portland ultimately determined that sinking the burning vessel was the best option to keep it from drifting ashore and threatening the coastline.
