On Thursday January 23, the U.S. Coast Guard announced that four sailors had been rescued in their life raft by the combined efforts of the Coast Guard, the container ship El Coqui and the fishing boat Bonanza, pictured above, in the Silver Banks waters north of the Dominican Republic.
The incident occurred when the sailing vessel Mariposa, which was on route from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Island to Portofino, Texas, struck a rock and eventually rolled over in the large swells and sank. The men were able to deploy their life raft and initiate an SOS with their EPIRB.
The four. men were identified as David Potts (63), John Potts (62), Andrew Cullar (26), and Russel Case (67).
The rescue was coordinated by Coast Guard Sector San Juan which sent a plane to search for the source of the emergency signal 180 northwest of Puerto Rico. The pilots found the life raft and were then able to alert the crew of the Bonanza with several low flyovers to get their attention.
In the meantime, the 720 foot El Coqui had been alerted by the AMVER system of the emergency and diverted its course to aid in the rescue.
The Bonanza found the life raft and was able to retrieve all four men. Luckily, no one was injured in the whole emergency. No long after the rescue, the men were transferred to the El Coqui which would carry them north to Jacksonville, Florida.
“This incident underscores the importance of proper emergency equipment for vessels at sea,” stated Lt. Hannah M. Boyce, Coast Guard HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircraft commander. “We are all incredibly thankful those mariners were properly equipped”.
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