Five rescued after fishing boat floods off Belvedere

A swamped boat rests against rocks on the Belvedere shoreline as the Southern Marin Fire Protection District’s Fireboat Liberty stands by June 30. All five people aboard were rescued uninjured. (Handout photo)

Five adults whose small boat was rapidly filling with water ran it aground on the rocks along the Belvedere Island shoreline and were ferried to safety by firefighters June 30, fire officials said. No one was injured.

The fishing boat was taking on water in Richardson Bay near Spinnaker Drive in Sausalito about 10:20 a.m. when a 911 caller reported five people aboard, all wearing life jackets, as the vessel flooded and listed heavily. The Tiburon Fire Protection District’s Fireboat Tiburon was dispatched to help the Southern Marin Fire Protection District. Spokesperson Kim Huff said the boat was in danger of capsizing before crews arrived.

By the time crews reached the scene on a windy morning, the boat lay on its side, half-submerged on the island’s western shoreline, and the five were making their way onto the beach.

With the boat against the rocks and out of the fireboats’ reach, firefighters ran a personal watercraft out to the group, had them climb onto an inflatable platform towed behind it and pulled them to Fireboat Liberty. The boat took them to Sausalito, where all declined medical evaluation.

Fireboat Tiburon stayed behind to help secure the disabled boat, which was left against the rocks for the U.S. Coast Guard to recover. The response ended shortly after 11 a.m.

The Marin County Fire Department and Coast Guard also responded. Huff said there was no fuel leak or environmental hazard.

It was not known at press time what caused the boat to take on water. The names of those aboard were not released.