A terrifying fishing trip turned into a fight for survival in Northern California after a 6-year-old girl and four others were thrown into icy waters when their boat flipped in Tomales Bay on Saturday.
The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said they received a distress call just before noon on October 18 about an overturned fishing vessel struggling in “rough ocean conditions” near Tomales Point — a notoriously dangerous area where waves often collide with shifting currents.
By the time first responders arrived, five passengers were scattered in the frigid surf. Two had managed to swim to a remote beach and were suffering from severe cold exposure. The others — including the young girl — had been rescued by a pair of local fishermen who didn’t hesitate to charge into the chaos.
Those rescuers were father and son Willy and Cameron Vogler, both longtime locals who run nearby Lawson’s Landing campground. The pair said they didn’t think twice before launching their small boat into the dangerous surf after spotting the capsized vessel.
“We saw another big, head-high wave coming and we probably should have turned around,” Willy told the San Francisco Chronicle. “But once we saw people, we just went for it.”
When they reached the wreckage, Willy said he spotted the girl’s father diving beneath the overturned hull. “The child had been trapped under the boat,” he recalled. “That’s my worst nightmare — you’ve got fishhooks, ropes, all kinds of things under there. It could’ve gone bad fast.”
After pulling the survivors aboard, the Voglers rushed them to Dillon Beach, where emergency crews were waiting. The sheriff’s helicopter team hoisted the two stranded adults to safety from the remote shoreline.
Videos shared by the sheriff’s office showed dramatic scenes of the aerial rescue, with rescuers dangling from a rope as waves crashed below.
In total, all five passengers — three adults and two children — survived. The 6-year-old girl and two adults were airlifted to hospitals for treatment.
Officials say the accident was caused by a powerful wave that struck the fishing boat head-on. “That area of the mouth is extremely dangerous,” said Sonoma County Sheriff’s spokesperson Emily Fuller. “We’ve had boats capsize there before.”
The sheriff’s office praised both professional responders and civilians for preventing what could have been a tragedy. “We commend the outstanding teamwork among all responding agencies and the courageous bystanders whose quick actions helped save lives that day,” the department said in a statement.
As for the Voglers, they say they’re just grateful everyone made it out alive. “When you live here, you know how fast the water can turn on you,” Cameron said. “We were just in the right place at the right time.”
The family involved has not been publicly identified, but authorities say all five are expected to recover — a rare happy ending in one of California’s most unpredictable coastal danger zones.
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