Four Men (and 1 Dog) Rescued After Boat Sinks off Dry Tortugas

[Nimrod]

FROM "YACHTING NEWS"

Four Men (and 1 Dog) Rescued After Boat Sinks off Dry Tortugas

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued four men and a dog in a life raft off the Dry Tortugas after their 93' boat sank while traveling from Louisiana to Haiti.

The men had activated an EPIRB, an emergency radio beacon that tells authorities where they were, after the Chelsea began taking water over the stern, the Coast Guard said. The boat later sank.

"This case emphasizes how important it is for mariners to have proper life-saving equipment and to know how to use it," said Lt. Cmdr. Chris O'Neil, public affairs officer for the Seventh Coast Guard District.

"Our search and rescue coordinators and aircrew were able to quickly get help to the scene because of the Chelsea's EPIRB signal."

The life raft was about 14 miles northwest of Dry Tortugas National Park when the Coast Guard located it around 11 p.m. Thursday by dispatching a helicopter. A nearby fishing boat, the JT, was ordered to pick them up.

The Coast Guard cutter Key Biscayne then picked up the four men and the dog, transporting them to Key West.

[Bite Me]

It makes me feel a lot better about the $1,500 I just spent having my raft and EPIRB serviced.
A 93 foot boat? I don't know if I have ever even seen a 93 foot boat.