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NARRAGANSETT – The U.S. Coast Guard saved a three-member crew of an 82-foot fishing vessel from Point Judith at about 8:45 p.m. Monday. The crew was forced to abandon ship more than 180 miles southeast of Cape Cod. Coast Guard Sector Northern New England and the Rescue Coordination Center in Halifax, Canada, got a radio call Monday at 6:30 p.m., from the sailing vessel ING Coffer that was relaying distress calls overheard from the fishing vessel Dona Maria, stating they were rapidly taking on water.
The Coast Guard Command Center in Boston dispatched a Falcon jet and a Jayhawk rescue helicopter from C.G. Air Station Cape Cod, and the Dona Maria's crew was instructed to manually activate the vessel’s emergency position indicating radio beacon so the air crews could track their location. The Falcon jet crew arrived on scene around 7:20 p.m., to pinpoint and maintain the location of the crew in the life raft. The helicopter crew arrived on scene an hour later and hoisted the crewmembers to safety. The helicopter returned to the cape at 10 p.m. All are reported to be in good condition. “The key to this case was the relay of information between all parties involved that allowed us to respond quickly,” said John Tomaszewski, a search and rescue controller at the Coast Guard Command Center in Boston. “The EPIRB aboard the vessel was essential to allow us to monitor the location of the crew in distress.” The crew of the Dona Maria had a newer 406 megahertz beacon aboard the vessel when they began taking on water. The Coast Guard reminds mariners to make the switch to the new life-saving digital emergency position indicating radio beacons. Beginning Feb. 1, the Coast Guard and other search and rescue personnel will only monitor mayday calls that are broadcast using the new digital beacons. Older beacons, which broadcast 121.5 megahertz distress signals will no longer be detected or sent directly to search and rescue personnel.
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