Two Canadians Rescued off Costa Rica

Last Saturday, Canadians John Davidson, 65, and Jud Baker, 47, were rescued from their inflatable dinghy after Davidson’s 42-ft trimaran Trinity sank in rough weather about five miles off Costa Rica three days earlier. The friends, who were bound for Nicaragua, had started their cruise from Mexico, according to an interview with Davidson’s son, as a pre-retirement dream cruise. But the trip ended abruptly last Thursday when, according to reports from the pair, high seas ripped off one of Trinity‘s amas and her mast came down. Davidson and Baker apparently had just enough time to grab a handheld EPIRB and scramble into the boat’s 8-ft inflatable dinghy before Trinity went under. They immediately began paddling toward shore, but heavy conditions sent them farther offshore. At one point in their ordeal, the dinghy even flipped, but they were able to right it. The two spent three days drifting farther out to sea with no food, no water and no shelter. At one point Baker reports wondering if the EPIRB was even working. Luckily for them and their families, it was.

After receiving the EPIRB signal on Thursday afternoon, the Coast Guard coordinated with a U.S. Navy P-3 Orion to fly over the area, but by that time, night had fallen so the crew was unable to spot the dinghy. It took two more days of searching, but a USCG C-130 finally pinpointed the signal around 10:35 Saturday morning. Initially, the plane’s crew reported that, while they could see two people in the dinghy, neither was moving. On the second pass, the now-delirious castaways realized the noise they heard was a plane and started waving their paddles. The 695-ft car carrier — one of the largest ever built — Sunbelt Spirit had already changed course toward the area and arrived about 30 minutes after the dinghy was spotted. The ship’s crew helped Davidson and Baker aboard, where they were treated for dehydration, sunburn and severely blistered hands from countless hours of rowing. Baker was able to fly home this week since he’d been able to grab his passport before jumping ship, but Davidson is still waiting for a replacement passport. We suspect this will be a particularly memorable holiday season for them and their families.

Sadly, two Polish brothers — Marek and Pawel Radwanski — were lost in the Beagle Channel’s Sloggett Bay on Monday when their 59-ft steel boat Nashachata was swept onto the rocks after losing engine power and being dismasted. Nashachata was returning to Ushuaia, Argentina from a trip to Antarctica when a hurricane-force storm hit. Five remaining crewmembers were able to make it ashore and were later rescued.