[macojoe]

GLOUCESTER, Mass. -- SpongeBob SquarePants came to the rescue off the coast of Gloucester last weekend.

It was just after 7 p.m. Saturday when the crew aboard the Gloucester-based fishing vessel Clam Juice reported they were rapidly taking on water off Ten Pound Island.

A Coast Guard rescue crew that arrived minutes later began pumping out the boat -- but noticed a large crack in an exhaust pipe.


After one of the rescuers said that he wished they had their football to plug the leak, one of the Clam Juice's crewmembers grabbed a SpongeBob Nerf football that was on board.

And not a moment too soon, SpongeBob was up to the task, sealing the hole and allowing a Coast Guard to tow the disabled vessel back to port