Stranded windsurfer found alive
By Becky Bartindale
Mercury News
A 66-year-old windsurfer who was stranded at sea spent a chilly night in San Francisco Bay until a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter hoisted him to safety shortly after midnight.
Andre Volant of San Bruno was holding onto his windsurfing board, drifting with the current and waving his arms when spotted by a Coast Guard helicopter early today north of the San Mateo Bridge, said Coast Guard spokeswoman Lt. Amy Marrs.
He had put out from Coyote Point, near San Mateo, about 5 p.m. and was too far from shore to make it back when he lost the wind.
Luckily, the weather and surf conditions were relatively mild. And Volant, an experienced windsurfer, was well-prepared.
"He was in good condition; he had a good wet suit,'' Marrs said.
The helicopter, which spotted Volant about 12:20 a.m., took him to a Coast Guard air station in San Francisco and a relative picked him up, Marrs said. His windsurfing equipment was later recovered by boat.
Search teams used a boat and two helicopters -- one from the Coast Guard and one from the California Highway Patrol -- to search the waters off Coyote Point for Volant. Friends had reported him missing at 8 p.m., and the search began about a half hour later.