Sightseeing boat with 43 on board runs aground near Berkeley Marina

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- The U.S. Coast Guard responded after a boat with 43 people on board ran aground Saturday afternoon.

The Coast Guard rushed 41 passengers off the stranded Osprey - a boat owned by Tideline Charter. It was booked Saturday by the Audubon Society for bird watching.

Just 10 minutes after leaving the Berkeley Marina the boat ran aground during low tide.

"Chairs turned over and then people picked themselves up and the boat started listing in one direction," Passenger Sherry Pierce said.

It took more than an hour and two small boats to safely rescue all of the passengers.

"No one went into the water so they were able to get to move the small boats alongside the ferry and step from one vessel to the other," U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Cory Mendenhall said.

The Osprey's two crew members refused to leave the boat.

So they stayed on board while the passengers regrouped on land.

There were two minor injuries.

But that's not why Sara Hirsch is upset. "This was the first trip to see the birds and I was very excited about it," she said.

Most passengers didn't panic at all.

"Everyone riled up a little bit but quickly realized the water was only seven feet deep so we realized we were pretty safe," passenger Onna Khalsa said.

All of the passengers quickly left the Marina but it took nearly five hours to move the Osprey to Richmond.

A Vessel Assist Boat towed the Osprey to a yard to check for possible damage.