A man and woman on a jet ski capsized on the Columbia River, prompting an early morning water rescue, authorities said.

The couple was leaving a boat they anchor about 75 yards offshore when their Honda AquaTrax flipped around 6:35 a.m., said Clark County Deputy Todd Baker.

The woman swam to shore. Firefighters rescued the man, identified as Patrick Earl Flowers, near the James Gleason Boat Ramp by the 4300 block of Northeast Marine Drive, Baker said.

Both were wearing life jackets.

Baker said the couple, whom he described as transient, live on a 34-foot Bayliner off of Marine Park in Vancouver and is well known among the agency's water patrol.

Court records from last year list Flowers' as a Hayden Island resident with no known address.

KATU reported the couple uses the jet ski to commute to work.

-- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh

skavanaugh@oregonian.com

503-294-7632 II @shanedkavanaugh