Late the afternoon of January 7, the Boston Coast Guard received an EPIRB signal from Rhode Island based 55-foot F/V ELIZABETH HELEN. A Coast Guard motor life boat went in search of ELIZABETH HELEN, and located the two-person crew in their life raft within the hour, thanks to the crew setting off a red flare. No injuries are reported, although 900 gallons of diesel were on board the capsized and sinking vessel.

This rescue was such a success because the crew was prepared with appropriate safety gear. The EPIRB automatically sends an alert when it's immersed in water or manually activated, and the crew had a life raft ready with flares to further aid timely detection and rescue by the Coast Guard.