A 14-foot fishing boat had to be recovered by the U.S. Coast Guard on Sunday.

No one was in the boat, which broke free during high winds around 8 p.m. Saturday. The boat was retrieved off Bush Point the next morning. South Whidbey Fire/EMS responded, but by the time they were ready to put their boat into the water, the Coast Guard had arrived, said Deputy Chief Jon Beck.

He warned that as boating season begins in earnest this weekend for Independence Day, people need to wear their lifejackets and personal flotation devices.

“As people get onto the water, we’ll see more calls, especially once crabbing season starts,” he said.

One common scenario he recalled from his several years serving South Whidbey is of people pulling crab pots up and capsizing the boat or falling in without a lifejacket.