San Francisco fire crews and the U.S. Coast Guard helped to rescue eight people off of a boat that is typically used to teach high school girls how to sail but had all adults aboard when it began taking on water during a race in the Bay on Saturday afternoon.
A 911 call came in just before 2 p.m. about a boat in distress near Gashouse Cove off Marina Green near the city's northern waterfront. Authorities arrived to find nine people aboard the vessel and rescued eight of them, but the boat's captain refused to leave until it could be towed to shore, San Francisco Fire Lt. Mariano Elias said. No one was injured.
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WATCH HEREThe boat was the Sea Scout Ship Viking, part of an all-girls program that partners with the San Francisco Sailing Whaleboat Association. Officials with the SSS Viking program wrote on social media late Saturday night that the boat was being sailed by adult alumni with no youth on board in the San Francisco Bay Master Mariners Regatta race when the rudder failed and the vessel began to capsize.
"The seasoned crew on board righted the boat, and the crew was subsequently taken off while the experienced pilot stayed with the vessel to supervise the tow," the social media post said. "No one was injured, and the boat was never in danger of sinking due to its being a wooden lifeboat."
The Viking was taken to its home in Aquatic Park along the northern waterfront, according to the post.
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