EPIRB Saves Cruiser and Dog

After spending three days adrift in a dinghy, a Canadian cruiser and his dog were succesfully rescued when their EPIRB’s signal was picked up by Tahitian authorities, reports Susanne Ames of the New Zealand-based Cheshire. Forty-eight-year-old Sylvain Caron was en route to New Zealand with his fox terrier Eddie, when his 40-ft ketch foundered the night of October 3. Forced to take to the dinghy, Caron was able to grab the EPIRB and a radio. When the latter succumbed to water damage, Caron’s only hope was the EPIRB. A French Navy aircraft spotted Caron and Eddie the following day and contacted rescue services in the Cook Islands, who ultimately found the pair some 280 miles northeast of Rarotonga a day later.