The 44-foot motor lifeboat was the standard workhorse of the United States Coast Guard (USCG) rescue boat fleet, designed in 1961 and built between 1963 and 1972.

Other international agencies, including the Italian Coast Guard and Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue, have modified and adopted the 44' MLB design.

After the Dolphin arrived around 2 a.m., its crew rescued the two aboard the sailboat around 2:30 a.m.[11] Despite severe superstructure damage from the rollovers, CG-44363 remained afloat[2] and eventually washed ashore on James Island with its engines still running, where it was spotted around 3:48 a.m. by a helicopter crew on a Sikorsky MH-60 Jayhawk sent from Coast Guard Air Station Astoria; the lone survivor was found nearby, while the other three had drowned.

[11] CG-44363 was cut up for scrap at James Island,[12] and a cast bronze sculpture was placed on the lawn at Station Quillayute River in October as a memorial.

[13] In June 1997, an investigative Coast Guard panel concluded the coxswain "[failed] to safely navigate, causing the boat to capsize and founder in the surf conditions", adding the crew should have waited for the surfman on duty.