Coast Guard rescues 3 people 20 miles off Mendocino County

<p>The U.S. Coast Guard used a helicopter and motor lifeboat to rescue three people from an overturned sailboat Saturday off the Mendocino County coast, where a small craft warning for gale force winds was in effect.</p><p>The vessel, on its way from Crescent City to Alameda, was about 20 miles offshore when it overturned in 15-foot seas and 50 mph winds, Coast Guard officials said.</p><p>The 32-foot Calypso, a catamaran, was fitted with an emergency beacon that was activated just before it capsized at 12:45 p.m.</p><p>The boat and its crew of two men and one woman were found an hour and 10 minutes later by a MH-65C Dolphin helicopter dispatch from the Coast Guard station in Crescent City, Coast Guard officials said.</p><p>A Coast Guard swimmer was lowered into the water near the boat, swam to the boat and the crew, who were showing signs of hypothermia, to be lifted into the helicopter.</p><p>The three, who were not wearing life jackets nor survival suits, were taken to a Ukiah hospital for treatment of hypothermia.</p><p>The Coast Guard swimmer stayed with the sailboat until he was taken aboard the 47-foot motor lifeboat, which was dispatched from the Coast Guard station at Fort Bragg.</p>