Coast Guard assists three 30 miles off Matagorda, Texas

Aug 17th, 2022

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The Coast Guard assisted three people aboard a vessel taking on water offshore Matagorda, Texas, Tuesday.

Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi command center watchstanders received an emergency position indicating radio beacon alert at 12:10 p.m. originating from a position 30 miles off the Matagorda Jetty. An airborne Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi HC-144 Ocean Sentry airplane diverted to the position and located a 24-foot pleasure craft taking on water with three people aboard.

An underway Coast Guard Station Port O’Connor 45-foot Response Boat–Medium crew also diverted to the location to provide assistance. Once on scene, the RB–M crew took aboard two boaters and passed a P-6 dewatering pump to the vessel’s operator to manage the flooding. The crew then escorted the three boaters and vessel to Matagorda Harbor.

“An EPIRB is an essential piece of equipment for mariners boating beyond reliable radio range,” said Lt. Alexis Williams, command duty officer, Sector Corpus Christi. “When these distressed boateres activated their EPIRB, we quickly recieved their location and sent our crews to help them before the situation worsened.”