A U.S. Coast Guard crew from Kodiak rescued four people from Knight Island in Prince William Sound on Nov. 18 after receiving a distress call that their 28-foot Bayliner was taking on water in Marsha Bay.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Anchorage got the initial satellite phone call from a good Samaritan who heard the distress call via VHF-FM radio channel 16, stating that the Bayliner was taking on water. Alaska State Troopers also received an emergency beacon alert from the survivors indicating that they were in distress.
No details were available on where the vessel was headed from or to.
Sector Anchorage watchstanders correlated the two distress calls and launched Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak Jayhawk helicopter and HC-130 aircraft crews along with a Coast Guard Station Valdez 45-foot response boat.’Once at the scene, they located the survivors who had activated a flare, and the Jayhawk crew safely hoisted them, and transported them to Cordova. None of the four had medical concerns.
Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Taylor, watchstander at Coast Guard Sector Anchorage, said it was a perfect example of a worst case scenario where the survivors were prepared and did everything right. “Communication was extremely spotty in their location, but they used everything possible from VHF radio to flares to an emergency beacon,” Taylor said “This along with our crew’s fast response time ultimately saved their lives.”
