From the USCG.mil

On October 29th, 2012 at 0056z the COSPAS-SARSAT system detected a 406 MHz Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) 207 miles east of Wilmington, NC. The Tall ship HMS Bounty with 16 people on board was caught in Hurricane Sandy.

The ship’s Captain and 2 crew members were washed overboard by high seas. The remaining 13 crew members donned survival suits, and abandoned ship into 2 canopied life rafts. One of the 3 crewmen swept overboard was recovered by the crew in the life rafts. The ship’s owner contacted the Coast Guard when he lost communications with the HMS Bounty on October 28th.

The HMS Bounty’s EPIRB automatically activated when the vessel sank. Coast Guard District 5 Rescue Coordination Center (CGD5) received the SARSAT alert and correlated it to the owner’s report of loss of communications. CGD5 launched a C-130 Hercules aircraft from Elizabeth City, NC to the SARSAT position. The C-130 arrived on scene and established contact with the HMS Bounty’s crew. When the weather cleared, CGD5 dispatched a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter that arrived on scene October 29th at 1030z and hoisted five people to safety. A second MH-60 was launched later that day and rescued nine people. The Coast Guard recovered the remaining crew member who was later pronounced dead at the hospital. The search for the Captain was suspended after 4 days.

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