Coast Guard Rescues Woman, 2 Dogs From Swamped Sailboat

CLEARWATER, FL — The Coast Guard rescued a woman and two dogs from a 32-foot sailboat in swamped in choppy waters near Shell Key Saturday.

Coast Guard St. Petersburg received an emergency call from a woman who said her sailboat was taking on water.

A 29-foot Coast Guard response boat located the woman and rescue her and her two dogs. They then transferred the sailboat to a 45-foot response boat, which towed it to the Tierra Verde marina.

"Our crews are highly trained to assist boaters in distress despite the weather conditions," said Capt. Matthew A. Thompson, Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg commander. "We're happy we were able to bring that person back home safely but want to remind the public to exercise extreme caution when out on the water. We recommend the boating public to always have the proper safety flotation devices on board, a VHF-FM radio and an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon to help our crews assess and respond in a faster manner."