Coast Guard rescues disabled ski boat

A Gardnerville couple had a frightening experience Sunday when they became stranded off the shore of the Tahoe Keys in a disabled boat.

Melody Cordes used two fire extinguishers on an overheated engine. It was the couple's second trip on the lake this season with their new engine.

She blew the horn, but no other boat heard the call. From the 21-foot Seaswirl ski boat with her husband, Greg, Cordes waved an orange personal flotation device to indicate they were in distress.

"It was like being on Lake Tahoe by yourself," she said.

She called the U.S. Coast Guard's Tahoe City station on a cell phone at 11:05 a.m. The crew towed the boat into the Tahoe Keys Marina 20 minutes later.

"It was scary. I've seen boats blow up," she said.

Their terrier, Katie, was the most calm passenger. "She thought she was going to swim," Cordes said.

The Cordeses found some humor in the call to the Coast Guard when a crew member asked if they were certain the boat was on fire.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Justin Baumgartner said he was satisfied with the outcome, adding the couple was fortunate to have fire extinguishers, a cell phone and a horn -- a federal regulation.

"I guess we're getting back in the season, so hopefully people know our phone number," Baumgartner said. "They were pretty close to shore. It's a good thing this didn't happen in the middle of the lake."