Woman rescued miles off Lover’s Point after spending night in ocean

Coast Guard crews received a call from a fishing vessel around 9:30 a.m. saying they had found a woman in the ocean near a deflated dinghy at Lover’s Point.

The fishing boat crew had spotted the woman about 2.5 miles from Lover’s Point and was able to get her in a rescue strap; the woman was hanging from their boat in the water.

Rescue crews believe the 45-year-old woman originally launched the boat in the vicinity of Monterey Bay Hotel in Seaside around 4 p.m. Tuesday. Around 6 p.m., she had problems with the raft and southerly winds pushed her out into the bay.

When Coast Guard crews found the woman this morning, they pulled her off her raft and onto their boat. She was then transferred to a Monterey Fire boat that for emergency medical treatment. Coast Guard officials said the woman was conscious, but had hypothermia.

Crews said she told them she was in the water since over night, possibly 15 hours. The woman, who is from San Diego, was wearing a life vest.

Fire crews transported her to land and paramedics took her to The Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula.

Firefighters credit the fishing boat with saving the woman’s life, and credit the woman with having the will to survive through the night. She was wearing a life jacket at the time of her rescue.

Officials have not released the woman’s name.