A sloop of about 20 feet in length ran aground on the north side of the San Leandro Channel and was pulled to safety at about 3:45 p.m. today, when the tide was up.

The sailboat, which had two persons aboard and a gold-painted hull, appeared to have lost engine power. It ended up stuck in the sand near the Elsie Rohmer Bird Sanctuary for an unknown period of time.

A tugboat, likely owned by the City of Alameda, helped right the sailboat and then pulled it into the middle of the channel with a tow line. The distressed sailboat was then tied alongside the tugboat.

It appeared that the sailboat was being taken out into the Bay and then on to a local marina or dock for repairs at about 4:15 p.m. on Monday, February 27.

The San Leandro Channel is quite narrow and very shallow at low tide in the winter months; even at high tide, it can be difficult to navigate, especially the north side (closest to Crown Beach).

The U.S. Coast Guard was contacted about the incident, and a press officer said that its tugboats typically get involved in towing distressed boats that are way offshore and not in the Bay Area.