The Alameda Police Department’s (APD) Marine Patrol Unit rescued two distressed boaters in the Oakland-Alameda Estuary Sunday, Sept. 25.

According to an APD report, the unit was patrolling the estuary to improve waterway safety when marine patrol officers heard a broadcast from a distressed boater on a United States Coast Guard (USCG) radio channel. Officers responded and located a kite surfer struggling to swim to shore due to his equipment filling with water. Once the kite surfer and his equipment were safely aboard, APD was informed of a second individual in distress. A few moments later, officers located the second person and helped him aboard. APD notified the USCG of the rescues and provided both people a ride to shore.

APD says people who plan on spending time on the water should familiarize themselves with important channels on their VHF (very high frequency) radio. Channels 16 (156.800 MHz) is designated as the international distress, safety, and calling frequency. Channel 22A (157.100 MHz) is the most common working channel for USCG. For more information, visit https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/us-vhf-channel-information.