Weekend canoers rescued from Lake Sonoma

Two canoers who capsized in Lake Sonoma on Sunday were rescued as they struggled to stay afloat, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s office said.

A 55-year-old Benicia woman was reportedly exhausted at the point she was brought to safety aboard a sheriff’s patrol boat, Lt. Ed Hoener said.

The woman had been canoing in an area of the Warm Springs arm called the narrow when she and her companion, a 47-year-old Napa man, flipped the boat and ended up in the water, authorities said. They were not wearing safety vests, sheriff’s personnel said.

Passers-by were en route to assist them when the sheriff’s patrol unit spotted the pair in the water and intervened shortly after 2:30 p.m., Hoener said.

“While there were life jackets on board, they were not in use,” Hoener said. “That would have helped.”