U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 11 - Bellingham, WA

Station Bellingham Honored for Lummi Island Rescue

Alert 11, Spring 2026

Lummi Island, Wash. – Sta Bellingham boat crew and AS Port Angeles MH-65 crew rescue a family of five and their dog after their kayaks capsized in Rosario Strait, June 9, 2024. US Coast Guard photo.
Lummi Island, Wash. – Sta Bellingham boat crew and AS Port Angeles MH-65 crew rescue a family of five and their dog after their kayaks capsized in Rosario Strait, June 9, 2024. US Coast Guard photo.

A Coast Guard Station Bellingham boat crew was recognized at the Coast Guard Foundation's Pacific Northwest Awards Dinner in Seattle in May 2025, receiving the 2025 Coast Guard Foundation Award for a high-stakes June 2024 rescue near Lummi Island.

The crew responded to an SOS triggered by a Garmin inReach satellite communicator after a family of five — two adults, three children, and a small dog — capsized their kayaks in icy three-to-five-foot seas. The Sta Bellingham boat crew worked alongside an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles to recover everyone before hypothermia could turn the situation fatal. All survived.

The case is a textbook example of why the rescue chain matters from end to end. The inReach beacon got the call out when no one ashore would have known. Sector Puget Sound coordinated the response. A surface asset and an air asset arrived together — Bellingham's 45-footer for the on-water recovery, the Port Angeles MH-65 for hoist capability and overhead command. And the families of those rescued got to come home, in part because they had carried a satellite emergency device in a kayak.

There's a takeaway for every Vessel Examiner and any Auxiliary member reading this: when you're talking to paddlers, sailors, and small-craft owners about safety equipment, satellite messengers and registered PLBs are no longer an exotic add-on. They are increasingly the difference between a successful SAR case and a tragedy. A VHF radio with DSC, satellite rescue beacon, or PLB is now an must-have piece of safety gear any recreational mariner can carry.

Bravo Zulu to the Sta Bellingham crew, and to the MH-65 aircrew from Air Station Port Angeles.

Source: Coast Guard Foundation, "Celebrating Heroes at the Coast Guard Foundation's Seattle Awards Dinner 2025," May 2025. Photo: U.S. Coast Guard.

Also in this issue

  • Flotilla 13-01-01: 2025 Year in Review

    A data-driven look at Flotilla 11's 2025 activity hours, training completions and awards, drawn from AUXDATA II reporting.

  • Change Of Watch

    Flotilla 11 held its annual Change of Watch at Station Bellingham on January 17, installing Leslie Parks as Flotilla Commander for 2026.

  • Member Training

    New qualifications for Bret (Vessel Examiner) and Monica (Program Visitor), plus a list of the 13 training activities members have completed so far this year.

  • Navigation Systems

    Flotilla Aid Verifiers have been notified that 2026 PATON and bridge assignments are available, and one member completed AV training.

  • A History of Coast Guard Helicopter Aviation

    A tour of every helicopter type the Coast Guard has flown, from the Sikorsky HNS-1 of 1943 to the planned all-MH-60T Jayhawk fleet, with a profile of Air Station Port Angeles.

  • Recreational Boating Safety: 2024 in Review

    The Coast Guard's 2024 Recreational Boating Statistics Report recorded the fewest boating deaths on record, but paddle craft made up 26% of fatalities.

  • New Beacons, New Radios

    What current PLBs and handheld VHF radios can do that older gear cannot, why MMSI and beacon registration matter to rescuers, and what Vessel Examiners and Program Visitors should ask boaters.

  • Return to Full Mission Operations and Standard Uniform Wear

    Following the end of the government shutdown, COMO Klaas Nijhuis announced that Coast Guard District Northwest is returning to full mission operations and normal uniform wear.

  • Parting Shot

    A Coast Guard response boat crew on patrol in the San Juan Islands.

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