Six people were rescued early yesterday morning after their outrigger canoe overturned in the Alenuihaha Channel 14 miles south of Maui, the Coast Guard said.

Coast Guard crews helped lift all six paddlers from the choppy, wind-swept water shortly before 6 a.m., the Coast Guard said.

No one was injured, and the Coast Guard praised the paddlers for doing things that made the rescue easier.

The rescue went "like clockwork" because all six paddlers were tied together, wearing life jackets, using their emergency locator devices, and shining flashlights toward the approaching helicopter, said helicopter rescue co-pilot Dave Maccaferri.

"They did the right thing," he said.

Coast Guard officials said they received a distress call from the paddlers' hand-held VHF radio at about 3:15 a.m. Crews from the Barbers Point and Maui Coast Guard stations were dispatched as well as the Coast Guard cutter Ahi, officials said.

When the rescue helicopter arrived on scene, a rescue swimmer, Petty Officer 2nd Class Kris Grimm, was lowered into the water and helped each paddler into a rescue basket.

All were taken to Kona International Airport in Keahole where they were examined by a waiting medical team and found to be in good condition.

Seas in the area were 7 feet and winds were 25 knots at the time of the rescue, the Coast Guard said.

A life raft was attached to the partially submerged canoe so it could be retrieved later, the Coast Guard said.