California Sailboat Sinking, 2 Children, 2 Adults Missing at Sea: Crews Conduct Water, Air Search for Crew Forced to Abandon Ship in Pacific

Reports confirm that four individuals (two children and two adults) were forced to abandon ship after their sailboat Cahrmblow began sinking off the coast of Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay, CA on Sunday (Feb. 24). The ship's crew - allegedly made up of a wife, husband, the couple's four-year-old son, and the boy's young cousin - made distress calls to California's Coast Guard at approximately 4:20 p.m. on Sunday, claiming that the sailboat was taking on water and that electronics were quickly failing. The crew lost contact with authorities shortly after reporting that they were forced to abandon ship. A massive water and air search is currently underway just south of San Francisco in an attempt to find the four family members lost in the Pacific.

According to Fox News, "The unidentified family had been sailing a small vessel west of Monterey Bay, in area where strong winds, cold water and big swells made for perilous conditions." In a serious of static-y distress calls, the married couple said they were attempting to build a life raft out of a cooler and life preserver ring after being forced to abandon the 29-foot vessel. There were no life rafts on the ship. Coast Guard Lt. Heather Lampert claims that the group was approximately 65 miles off of Monterey's coast around 4:20 p.m. Sunday when their first distress call came in. As of Monday afternoon (Feb. 25), all four sailors are still missing.

Although the sailboats' GPS was broken, reports confirm that the four family members most likely began drifting towards Santa Cruz. A massive water and air search began Sunday evening, with the use of boats, helicopters, and airplanes. The California Air National Guard also sent a C-130 and another aircraft to assist in the search.

Several reports confirm that the National Weather Service issued an advisory throughout the weekend, warning boaters of "strong winds and rough seas around the San Francisco Bay Area." Water temperatures in the area are typically in the 40s-50s this time of the year, making long-term survival difficult. The advisory stated that mariners "operating smaller vessels should avoid navigating in these conditions."

Authorities contacted several harbors throughout the California area - none have been able to locate the ship or its passengers. Searchers still do not know the names of who were aboard the sailboat, where it was from, or where it was going. Lampert reports that the Coast Guard was expanding its search to Hawaii, the Seattle area, and north into Canada.

As of yet, the Coast Guard has received no missing persons reports.