Rescuers Say Dog Was The Smartest One In Boat Rescue

SAN FRANCISCO, CA, (CNN) – There was a dramatic boat rescue near the Golden Gate Bridge on Friday and a dog that was rescued is being called the smartest one on the boat.

What began as a sunny morning for sightseeing just outside Chrissy Field, ended with a tense rescue of three tourists.

“I was absolutely freaking out! It was so terrifying.”

KTVU had the only cameras in the sky and on the shore as this rescue boat brought four people swept out beyond the Golden Gate Bridge.

Stevenson: “Tell me what happened.”
Federman: “Well we foolishly went out past the bridge and got caught in a riptide. And we called 911.”

It started when tourists Ed and Rachel Federman and Alex Perez joined San Francisco’s Robert Gurman and a pet poodle on his paddle boat.

“We got past the bridge and we tried to turn around and the tide was just too strong and we were just making no progress coming back in.”

“I just basically knew that I was not controlling the boat, that it was not in our hands anymore, it was just the sea was just taking us away.”

They called 911. The Coast Guard and a San Francisco Fire rescue boat rushed to the scene, about 100 yards beyond the Golden Gate Bridge.

The dog was smarter than the other four of them. None of them had life preservers or floatation devices, except for the poodle.

Station 16 firefighters, including a jetski operator, returned them close to shore.
 
We gave them a little lecture about life preservers and being out there with that kind of boat, those conditions out there are very, very dangerous and they can change in minutes.
“I’ve gone under the bridge and come back before but today. The current is always different, you have to be aware.”