MIAMI - The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Farallon is towing the
disabled 37-foot sailing vessel Hot Ticket Thursday evening and is
expected to arrive in Key West, Fla., at noon Friday.

The Cutter Farallon arrived on scene at approximately 6 p.m. Thursday
after battling 10 to 12-foot seas for more than 10 hours in response
to a distress call from the Hot Ticket, which became disabled
approximately 130 miles southwest of Fort Myers Beach, Fla., Wednesday
afternoon.

The crew of the sailing vessel Hot Ticket activated their emergency
position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) Wednesday afternoon when they
lost steering and the vessel began to take on water. The EPIRB signal
was received by search and rescue coordinators at the Eighth Coast
Guard District Command Center in New Orleans. Eighth District
controllers then contacted the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric
Administration's U.S. Mission Control Center in Suitland, Md., to
obtain the Hot Ticket's position from the agency's Cospas-Sarsat
program satellites. Controllers at the Seventh Coast Guard District
were then notified of the case. The position of the Hot Ticket was
also checked against information passed by the captain to a friend
during a satellite phone call.

SAR coordinators at the Seventh Coast Guard District in Miami took
control of the rescue, directing the launch of an HH-60 Jayhawk
helicopter from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater, Fla. Moments
later, the Atlantic Area Command Center received an alert from the
cruise ship Grandeur of the Seas that relayed a mayday call from the
Hot Ticket. In the mayday call the crew stated they had lost a rudder,
were slowly taking on water and their satellite phone was no longer
working.

Two HC-130 Hercules aircraft from Air Station Clearwater and an HU-25
Falcon jet from Air Station Miami flew missions to remain with the Hot
Ticket throughout Wednesday evening and until shortly before the
Farallon rendezvoused with the Hot Ticket Thursday afternoon.