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Coast Guard rescues mariners after SF-based boat sank off Costa Rica
Stephen Szukics, 55, of Fort Worth, Texas, and James Winningham, 45, of Murphys, Calif. told the Coast Guard they were en route to Texas via the Panama Canal aboard the Black Pearl, a 55-foot boat homeported in Loch Lomond Marina, San Francisco, when the vessel sank.
The two survivors, who were found aboard a life raft 50 miles west of Costa Rica, were reported to be in good condition and will be transferred to land at the next port call for the Coast Guard Cutter Sherman, which is based in Alameda.
At 7:20 a.m., a Coast Guard C-130 crew, from Air Station Sacramento, located the life raft and dropped food, water and a radio to the survivors.
The Sherman, a 378-foot high endurance cutter was in the vicinity and diverted to the scene. The cutter arrived on scene at about 9:30 a.m. and lowered their smallboat so they could transfer the two survivors from the life raft.
"They told me they were pretty darn happy to see that Coast Guard aircraft wave its wings at them this morning," said Capt. Mathew Bliven, commanding officer Coast Guard Cutter Sherman."Fortunately they did a number of things right to ensure their survival until we could reach them, such as having a survival bag packed and carrying a 406 MHz EPIRB."
"You never know when the sea is going to deal you a bad hand, so taking those precautions probably saved theirlives," said Bliven. "It certainly made the Coast Guard’s job a lot easier. My crew is glad it turned out well and that we get to return them safely to their loved ones. That’s a good day at sea for us."
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Short URL: http://www.veteranstoday.com/?p=6138
Posted by Veterans Today on Apr 29 2009, With 0 Reads, Filed under Heroes. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
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