The crew of a Department of Natural Resources commercial fish enforcement vessel assisted some stranded boaters in Hammond Bay off of Presque Isle County on Saturday, July 18.

Seven passengers were out for a day of pleasure boating about a mile off Hammond Bay in Lake Huron when they encountered six- to eight-foot seas. As they approached the shore for safety, their boat struck a submerged boulder, disabling their vessel.

DNR Conservation Officers Craig Milkowski and Larry Desloover were piloting the DNR's H. Ransom Hill enforcement vessel back to its home port in Rogers City after attending the Straits State Harbor dedication ceremony in Mackinaw City that afternoon when they responded to a "May-day" call on the marine radio and responded.

Milkowski and Desloover found the stranded vessel and took five passengers off the boat, leaving two on the disabled boat, and towed it back to Rogers City.

"This is a story of our officers being in the right place at the right time," said DNR Law Enforcement Chief Gary Hagler. "Watercraft safety is of prime importance in our state, and whenever we can assist boaters and provide a happy ending to what could have been a bad situation, we will do so."

For more information on watercraft safety, visit the DNR's Web site at www.michigan.gov/boating.