US Sailing will award a Hanson Rescue Medal to six sailors who risked their lives in an attempt to rescue a woman from a minivan that drove into San Francisco Bay in June.
The six sailors being honored are members of the American Youth Sailing Force, the Bay Area’s entry in the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup that will be raced in San Francisco this September.
The team was attending a fundraiser at the Golden Gate Yacht Club when the minivan drove off the nearby Marina Green parking lot and into the Bay at a speed estimated at 20 mph.
“We were getting ready for a party when we heard some yelling from over the seawall,” said team supporter Vince Casalaina. “We didn’t know what was going on at first, but then we saw the van as it started to float out away from shore, at which point my team got into our boat.”
