Two Overdue Boaters From Homosassa Located By Coast Guard

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — A Coast Guard air crew from Air Station Clearwater helped locate an overdue boat with two men aboard 23 miles off Homosassa early Friday morning.

The wife of one of the boaters contacted Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg at 4 a.m., and told them that her husband and his friend were supposed to have been back home on Thursday evening.

Crew members in the C-130 Hercules confirmed with a boater that was near the overdue fishermen that the battery on their boat had died.

Coast Guard Station Yankeetown, Florida Fish and Wildlife and Citrus County marine units responded to their boat's location, and offered help.

"With the high amount of small recreational vessels going offshore during red snapper season, it is imperative that recreational boaters have a 'float plan' left with a friend or family member," said Lt. Karinne Merical, a search and rescue coordinator at Sector St. Petersburg, in a news release. "If the Coast Guard has trip details on the vessel's intended route, vessel description, fishing area and duration of trip, it is much easier for us to develop a search area and quickly locate them."

Mariners can use the free Coast Guard mobile app to create a float plan or fill out one from http://floatplancentral.cgaux.org/. The Coast Guard reminds boaters that VHF marine radio and EPIRB are also vital pieces of equipment on any boating venture to communicate distress or need for assistance.