A NOAA research vessel crew and the Santa Barbara Harbor Patrol rescued four people from a sinking boat offshore Friday morning.

A motor vessel sent out a mayday call at 7:49 a.m. reporting that it was sinking with four people on board, said Harbor Patrol Lt. Ryan Kelly.

The Shearwater, a NOAA research vessel, was in the area and responded to the location of the mayday call, about 1.5 miles offshore, west of Leadbetter Point, Kelly said.

The Harbor Patrol boat and crew arrived at the scene a few minutes later, he said.

A Shearwater crew member jumped into the ocean and rescued people out of the water, including two who were unconscious, Kelly said.

In all, the Harbor Patrol and the Shearwater vessels brought four people to the Santa Barbara Harbor boat ramp, where Santa Barbara City Fire Department and American Medical Response personnel took over medical treatment.

“The Harbor Patrol brought in four patients from the sinking vessel, and we’re giving them medical attention right now,” fire Battalion Chief Jon Turner told Noozhawk around 8:30 a.m.

The condition of the four people on board the boat was unknown Friday afternoon.

Turner said all four were transported to the hospital, including two people who had CPR in progress. 

“The boat was sunk with only about a foot of the bow showing” when vessels arrived to the mayday location, Kelly said.

“The response time was pretty quick; it’s 10 minutes from where we are to that location, and for the boat to be completely submerged at that point, it’s most likely something catastrophic happened,” Kelly said.

Kelly said the unnamed boat that sank was a 24-foot Skipjack brand motor vessel.

Harbor cameras captured it launching from the Santa Barbara Harbor boat ramp between 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. Friday. 

The U.S. Coast Guard contacted a salvage boat company, which responded to the scene to search for the vessel, Kelly said.

NOAA Vessel First on the Scene

The NOAA research vessel Shearwater was going to the Channel Islands for a three-day scientific dive with divers and UC Santa Barbara students, said Sean Hastings, the policy, management and information officer for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary NOAA office. 

“They were a couple miles outside the (Santa Barbara) harbor when they heard the distress call come over the radio,” Hastings said. “So they stopped and waited for coordinates, and when they received those from the Coast Guard, it was apparent to them that they were really close.” 

The Shearwater arrived at the sinking boat in about 10 minutes, Hastings said, and they saw several people in the water. 

“One of the crew members grabbed fins and a life vest off the back dock and went immediately into the water,” Hastings said. 

That rescuer swam to the youngest victim, who was wearing a life vest, brought them to the Shearwater, and then went back to help more people in the water. 

“On the boat, it was all hands on deck, literally,” Hastings said. 

The Harbor Patrol arrived on the scene shortly afterward, he said. 

The crew member swam to another victim, who was unconscious, and brought them to the Shearwater. The crew and scientific team lifted the person on board and started CPR immediately, Hastings said. 

And then the crew member swam another unconscious person to the Harbor Patrol boat, where that crew started CPR, Hastings said. 

“Then they went back to the boat, which was sinking very quickly, and there was a fourth person who was conscious and they retrieved them as well,” he said.  

“We are just so glad that the Shearwater was within the vicinity and responded as any good Samaritan boater does.”

All crew members are trained with basic first aid and CPR, “and it’s not anything you ever want to exercise, but there’s no better crew to execute it,” he said.  

From the time of the distress call to getting all four people out of the water was 20-30 minutes, Hastings said. “It was a really rapid response.” 

It was unclear Friday what happened to the vessel in distress, and how people ended up in the water. 

NOAA has two vessels in the Santa Barbara Harbor, including the 64-foot Shearwater, which can support up to 150 days of science and monitoring in the channel, Hastings says. The other research vessel is the 29-foot Minke. 

After the rescue, the Shearwater returned to the harbor and transferred victims to emergency medical responders, Hastings said.

The crew and researchers provided statements, debriefed with a city Fire Department chaplain, and disembarked. The research trip may happen this weekend or be rescheduled, he said.