A group of four friends had rented kayaks from City Kayak at the South Beach Harbor Marina, but only one of the group made it back to shore around 2:15 p.m. to report that three of the friends had gone missing and needed help, U.S. Coast Guard spokesman Lt. Steve Youde said.
Shortly afterwards, a woman by herself on a sailboat called the "Abracadabra" reported to the U.S. Coast Guard that there was a person in the water. The woman then maneuvered the sailboat around and rescued the person, Youde said.
Two fishing boats, the "Austin Sea" and "Sunday Skipper," located and picked up the other two kayakers after the U.S. Coast Guard issued a broadcast about the incident to vessels in the area, Youde said.
All three kayakers are safe, and no injuries or hypothermia were reported.
Youde said that the kayakers had already been picked up by the time the U.S. Coast Guard sent out their rescue boats.
"We didn't actually make the rescues, but we had some good Samaritans out there helping us out," he said.
