Coast Guard rescues two boaters near Tillamook, Netarts Bay

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WARRENTON, Ore. — The Coast Guard rescued two recreational boaters in distress near Netarts Bay, located about 5 miles southwest of Tillamook, Wednesday morning.
Watch-standers at the Sector Columbia River Command Center received a Mayday call from a handheld maritime radio at 8:45 a.m., and immediately directed the launch of two 47-foot Motor Life Boat crews from Station Tillamook Bay and a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew from Air Station Astoria.

A man and woman were fishing off a jet-propulsion type personal watercraft near Netarts Bay when they pushed into the surf and were flipped over by a wave, causing them to fall overboard.
The man had a small marine radio which he used to make a Mayday call and help direct rescue crewmembers to their location.

Coast Guard crew members aboard 47 foot motor life boat transfer two people who were rescued near Netarts Bay to awaiting EMS at docks at Station Tillamook Bay in Garibaldi on February 13, 2019. (US Coast Guard photo)
Crewmembers from Station Tillamook Bay safely recovered the two people in distress, who were reportedly shivering but responsive, at 9:27 a.m. and transported them to Station Tillamook Bay in Garibaldi to awaiting Emergency Medical Service technicians at 10:06 a.m. for further medical attention.
“There wasn’t anybody else out there today,” said Petty Officer 3rd Class Bradley Larson, who assisted in the rescue. “If not for the life-jackets, wetsuits, and especially the radio, our chances of finding them, before they succumbed to hypothermia, would have been very slim.”
“MAYDAY” Audio file here: Transmission