ALAMEDA, Calif. – Thirty-three people were rescued from a vessel taking on water in the vicinity of Suisun Bay near Concord by the Coast Guard, Contra Costa Sherriff’s Department, and the Good Samaritan passenger ferry Intintoli.
Coast Guard Sector San Francisco received a distress call from the motor vessel Farallones, a 85-foot sea scout training vessel. The vessel had 27 kids and 6 adults onboard. The Farallones reported taking on water with approximately eight inches of water in the bilge. All passengers put on lifejackets.
Coast Guard Stations Vallejo and Rio Vista responded with 25-foot rescue boats and an MH-65 rescue helicopter was launched from Air Station San Francisco. The Coast Guard arrived on scene. The passenger ferry Intintoli was in San Pablo Bay when it responded.
Once on scene, the rescue boat crews disembarked the 27 kids and two adults and transferred the 29 persons to the ferry Intintoli. Four crewmembers of the Farallones remained aboard the vessel and controlled the flooding.
The ferry Intintoli arrived at the ferry terminal with the 29 rescued passengers aboard. The Farallones is enroute to Alameda Bay Shipping Lot under its own power and will undergo repairs there. The Coast Guard is escorting the vessel the entire way.
No injuries have been reported and the Coast Guard will investigate the incident.