Their boat disabled near St. Helena Sound. Then it started taking on water

Three boaters were rescued near the St. Helena Sound on Saturday night after their boat was disabled and began taking on water.

The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Charleston Command Center received notification at 7 p.m. Saturday that a 41-foot vessel, My Gal Sal, was taking on water, according to a news release.

The vessel was about 1.5 nautical miles from the closest point of land, close to the mouth of the Coosaw River near Morgan and Buzzard islands, according to Lt. J.B. Zorn, a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard launched a rescue helicopter crew from the Savannah Air Station and hoisted the three boaters up at about 8:45 p.m.

The boaters were taken to the Savannah Air Station, where they were reported to be in good condition.

My Gal Sal was secured by Tow Boat U.S. and was salvaged on Sunday, the news release said.

Life jackets, pieces of wood and fiberglass and ring buoys were floating away from the sinking boat along with a skiff that had broken away from the wreck, according to a Fripp Island Sea Rescue report Sunday morning. The debris made its way toward the Fripp Inlet near the Russ Point Boat Landing on Hunting Island and the Fripp Island Bridge.

Beaufort County area rescuers didn’t know anything about the Coast Guard’s emergency at the time and thought there must be an emergency near Fripp.

The smaller boat was a 10-foot, three-person paddle boat, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report.

Sunday morning, the Coast Guard told rescuers near Fripp Island about the rescue and the sinking boat that was out north of Egg Bank, on a sandbar in the St. Helena Sound between St. Helena Island and Edisto Island, Sea Rescue’s Michael Beach said on Monday.

Since that area of the water is part of Colleton County, Beaufort County agencies didn’t immediately know about the emergency, according to the Sea Rescue report. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources didn’t have the information immediately either, according to the Sheriff’s Office report.

Fripp Island Fire Department and Beaufort County EMS also came to the boat landing in case someone had been hurt.

This story was originally published February 5, 2018 at 9:14 AM with the headline "Their boat disabled near St. Helena Sound. Then it started taking on water."