Coast Guard recues Tampa Bay kayakers [Video]

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A Coast Guard boat crew rescued two people after their kayak flipped near the Sunshine Skyway Bridge on Saturday night. 

Watch standards at Station Cortez were alerted at 8 p.m. that Manatee and Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office marine rescue crews were responding to kayakers in distress, according to a news release by the Coast Guard. 

The two people were transported to O’Neill’s Marina uninjured and the kayak was recovered.

“The proper use of life jackets and coordination between partner agencies aided the rescue of both people,” said Lt. Casey Skomer, an operations unit controller at Sector St. Petersburg. “All kayakers are reminded to have a life jacket, sound-making device, and a light if paddling at night.”