Fishermen Rescue Deep-Sea Crew, Boat Off Huntington

A group of deep-sea fishermen had a scare Saturday afternoon when their charter boat started taking on water 1.5 miles off the Huntington Beach pier.

The Long Beach-based Maverick, a 52-foot commercial fishing vessel, placed a distress call around 12:45 p.m. after a plug came loose in the boat’s bait tank, allowing 3 feet of water to seep on board, said Petty Officer Billy Davidson of the oast Guard’s search and rescue office in Long Beach.

The first boat to the rescue was another fishing vessel, the 52-foot Freelance. Rescuers on the Freelance tossed down some rubber fenders, and the Maverick’s passengers were able to hop aboard the Freelance to safety, Davidson said. Rescue boats soon arrived from Long Beach and Orange County lifeguard stations.

The loose plug was located and put in place. The boat was not in immediate danger of sinking, Davidson said.

David Bernal, who was aboard the Freelance, said his crew heard the distress calls and decided to check them out. The crew saw the fishing vessel taking on water and immediately moved to get the people off the boat, Bernal said.

“Everyone was panicking and trying to get on board our [boat],” he said.

Water was pumped out of the Maverick, owned by the Seal Beach Pleasure Fishing Corp. A salvage boat towed the Maverick to the Long Beach Marina, Davidson said.