Compared with last week’s more incident-driven traffic, this week sounded quieter on the water, with total transmissions easing to 357 from 402 and routine hails continuing to make up most of the activity. Sécurité calls also fell to 51 from 100, and the overall mix showed less urgent radio traffic than the week before, without the repeated Pan Pan-style urgency that stood out in prior weeks.
It was a week of repeated person-in-the-water incidents in San Diego Bay, with radio traffic capturing multiple rescues and urgent Coast Guard alerts. On Sunday, radio traffic reported an overturned jet ski near buoy 20 with one person still aboard and another already rescued by a nearby sailboat, and on Tuesday the Coast Guard issued a Pan-Pan for a person in the water near the Coronado Bridge. Then on Saturday, a vessel near the Star of India reported it had picked up someone who fell into the bay and was two minutes out to transfer them.
Last week in San Diego waters, Coast Guard Sector San Diego issued multiple urgent broadcasts reporting a person in the water near the Coronado Bridge, a vessel aground near the south end of Scripps Pier, and an unidentified distress transmission from an unknown position.
It was a quiet week on the air. We tallied 346 transmissions: 117 Sécurité; 9 Pan Pans; and no Maydays.
Highlights were Sector San Diego traffic—Imperial Beach person-in-the-water and adrift-vessel Pan Pans, repeated Oceanside wave advisories and cutter sécurités, plus Disney Wonder diving warnings and a gray-whale chatter in the bay.
It was a quiet week on the air. 300 transmissions: 72 Sécurité; 6 Pan Pan calls; no Maydays.
On March 1 2026 United States Coast Guard Sector San Diego issued multiple Pan Pan broadcasts at 0208 UTC reporting a distress call of unknown position and unknown nature and requesting all vessels to keep a sharp lookout and render assistance.
A U.S. warship warned a nearby boat operating between Pier 11 and 12 to recall its swimmer or face defensive action in the restricted area. On February 16, 2026 the U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Diego issued a Pan Pan at 1038 local for two people reported in the water near the International Line. Mission Bay lifeguards separately reported a vessel about 10 feet from the rocks that had not yet struck them.
Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles issued an urgent Pan-Pan after receiving a Channel 16 distress call from the vessel Sundancer, which reportedly had been sinking with no position provided, and asked mariners to keep watch and report any sightings. Near San Diego, a Mayday reported a vessel fire just north of Shelter Island by the mooring buoys, drawing responders into an active evacuation. As crews managed the fire, the vessel Serrata requested immediate Harbor Police assistance for an onboard threat near America’s Cup Harbor, forcing responders to juggle a safety incident alongside the ongoing rescue.
U.S. Coast Guard Sector San Diego broadcasted two urgent safety alerts after a 16-foot sailboat had capsized in the surf near Silver Strand and a separate report had placed a person in the water near the east side of San Diego Pier. In another incident, the Coast Guard coordinated with a caller in the main channel who reported a tipped-over jet ski and a rider struggling to reboard, triggering a request for immediate assistance.
Coast Guard Sector San Diego issued multiple safety broadcasts - first asking mariners to watch for a reported yellow kayak, then alerting all stations to multiple flares reported about 30 miles west of Point Loma. A separate warning ordered all craft near China Point and San Clemente Island to move 1,000 meters east to avoid an active live-fire range.
Coast Guard Sector San Diego broadcast a Mayday for a vessel in distress about 30 nautical miles northwest of Channel 10, calling for immediate assistance. Around the same time, another vessel reported handling a serious medical emergency, while separate traffic flagged a fishing vessel lost near Imperial Gate.
A boater warned that a vessel unknowingly ran right over a newborn whale, with drones overhead and the mother nearby—an alarming reminder of how quickly wildlife encounters can turn dangerous. In a separate call, the tug Wendy Joe reported towing a “dead ship” into San Diego between 3–4 a.m. Two very different situations, but the same takeaway: on the water, awareness and communication are everything.
Responders closed in on a reported distress scene after a white skiff was identified approaching the bow of a sailboat linked to the earlier alert. A separate call confirmed a vessel had become disabled in the channel, prompting an immediate check for distress conditions.
A sailboat has bottomed out on its keel off the Shelter Island point nearest Point Loma and the skipper has asked nearby boaters for help because deeper-draft vessels have stayed clear. Harbor Police also moved to assist a separate vessel that has sat stuck on a jetty without power after the operator reported he had no way to contact vessel assist.