SUNBELT SPIRIT

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SUNBELT SPIRIT 9233246

2 Canadian men in a life raft were rescued approximately 100 miles off the coast of Costa Rica in the morning of Dec 11, 2010. The two from Winfield, B.C., were sailing from Costa Rica to Nicaragua in a 42-foot catamaran on Dec 9, when they abandoned ship, taking refuge in a life raft and activated their EPIRB. The joint operation included assistance from the "Sunbelt Spirit", the nations of Costa Rica and Canada and the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy. The USCG Atlantic Area command center, in Portsmouth, Va., received the EPIRB signal, and control was then transferred to the 11th Coast Guard District command center, in Alameda, Calif., at 2:30 p.m. to coordinate rescue efforts. The controllers requested the "Sunbelt Spirit" to change its course towards the signal. After a C-130 Hercules aircrew pinpointed the location of the signal to a life raft at 10:35 a.m. Dec 11 morning. The coordinates were then passed to the "Sunbelt Spirit" which, at 11 a.m., arrived on scene and the two people were taken aboard.