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| News Release |
Date: Feb. 7, 2008
Contact: Sector San Juan Public Affairs Specialist
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Coast Guard Rescues 2 Men, Tows Disabled Sailing Vessel to Safety SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Oak rescued two men and towed their sailing vessel Wonder Lust to safety Thursday morning after their vessel became disabled and adrift Wednesday evening, approximately 50 nautical miles southeast of Tortola, British Virgin Islands. The rescued men, U.S. Citizens, endured seven-foot seas and squally winds aboard the broken sailing rig, and the low battery power onboard forced them to turn off the vessel's navigational lights to transmit radio communications. Coast Guard Sector San Juan controllers received a call at 6:20 p.m. Wednesday from Fort De France Rescue Coordination Center coordinators, who relayed a report from the Good Samaritan motor vessel Maria indicating the Wonder Lust's position and distress. Search and Rescue coordinators in Sector San Juan took control of the rescue and diverted the Oak to assist the distressed vessel. The cutter Oak arrived on scene at approximately 10:45 p.m. Wednesday and prepared to tow the 46-foot sailing vessel with the two men onboard to safety. The crew of the Oak arrived with the Wonder Lust in tow at approximately 9 a.m. Thursday to Christiansted Harbor, Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin islands, where the two men were released in good health and the sailing vessel was safely anchored. The Coast Guard Cutter Oak is a 225-foot seagoing buoy tender home ported in Charleston, S.C. ###
Saving lives since 1790 -- the United States Coast Guard |
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