This morning the Coast Guard received a call that a University Of Belize vessel had gone missing at sea. Yesterday at 4:30, UB's assistant captain, 45 year old Alfredo Catzim and Francisco Garcia left Belize for Calabash Caye in a 28 foot boat named "Ism-1". They were carrying supplies to UB's research station on Calabash Caye. But on their way out they lost power in their engines, and started to drift under a northerly wind.
They were unable to contact anyone, and all UB knew is that they left, but never reached. This morning though, they managed to get through with a cell phone call to UB to tell the school that they were lost at sea.
The Coast Guard got the call from UB at 7:00 am and set out with support from the BDF Airwing. By 9:30, a BDF Defender spotted the vessel 2 miles beyond the reef. The Coast Guard crew found the men in good spirits, and towed the boat in. They came into the city from San Pedro by 2:00 this afternoon, and are now back out at Calabash.
Coast Guard Commander Cedric Borland tells us that without any engine power, and facing the huge swells beyond the reef, they faced a serious risk of washing up unto the reef, and possibly destroying their vessel in the process.
