Coast Guard helps sinking boat
It was a scary morning for the crew of a fishing boat sinking 20 miles offshore.
The fishing boat Ivy sent a mayday call at 3:38 a.m. that it was sinking.
The Coast Guard Station South Padre Island dispatched a rescue boat crew and Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi launched an HU-25 Falcon jet crew to assist.
The Falcon jet crew had to turn back because of a lightning storm, but the rescue boat was able to reach the Ivy, which was 20 miles east of Port Isabel.
The Ivy had four feet of water in the engine room when the rescue boat provided a de-watering pump to control the flooding and keep the boat from sinking.
The Coast Guard tried escorting the boat to the Port of Brownsville, but a second fishing boat had to be brought in to tow the disabled Ivy.
All three boats arrived at the port and luckily no one was hurt.
