(Tribune News Service) — Boaters were stranded for eight hours Wednesday on the hull of their capsized fishing boat off the coast of Oregon, U.S. Coast Guard officials said.

They were rescued thanks to the captain’s “float plan” — telling a friend or family member where you are going and when they should expect you to return, Coast Guard officials said in a news release.

The captain’s wife notified rescuers at the Columbia River Coast Guard station at 7:30 p.m. that her husband had not made it back to the marina by the time he told her to expect him Wednesday officials said in the release.

The last time someone had contact with the boaters was about 3 p.m., when a friend had called the captain, she told officials. Rescuers narrowed down a search area based on cell phone forensics.

Dispatchers coordinated a rescue boat crew and an air crew, and confirmed with local police that the captain’s truck and trailer were still at the boat ramp, officials said.

The air crew found the boat off the coast of Nesika Beach with the men sitting on the overturned hull of the 26-foot commercial fishing boat just after 11 p.m., officials said. They were not wearing life jackets.

The helicopter crew directed the rescue boat crew to their location and brought them aboard at 11:30 p.m. The boaters showed signs of hypothermia and rescuers gave them blankets and water, officials said.

At 2 a.m., they made it back to the Chetco River Coast Guard station, where EMS responders treated and released them. In total, they had spent almost eight full hours sitting on top of the capsized boat’s hull, officials said.

“This case highlights the importance of creating a ‘float plan,’” Lt. Michael Jeffko, the command duty officer for Sector Columbia River, said in the news release.

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