Searches continue for overdue Canadian sailor
by US Coast Guard on 22 Nov 2009
Hubert Marcoux SW
The United States and Canadian Rescue Coordination Centers continue to facilitate searches by five aircraft Saturday for a sailor who is overdue on his trip from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Bermuda.
Hubert Marcoux, 67, departed Halifax aboard his 45-foot sailboat Mon Pays Nov. 9 with a plan to arrive in Bermuda by Monday.
His sister took action after he had not arrived and notified authorities. Joint Rescue Coordination Center Halifax began coordinating the search Wednesday and requested assistance from U.S. Coast Guard Rescue Coordination Center Norfolk.
Friday evening the U.S. Coast Guard took the lead on coordinating the search efforts with an advanced search and rescue software program to determine the most likely areas that Marcoux could be. The Search and Rescue Optimal Planning System (SAROPS) is being used to by search and rescue controllers to guide American and Canadian search aircraft. Broadcasts are being transmitted along the east coast from the United States and Canada using Inmarsat Enhanced Group Calls, Urgent Marine Information Broadcasts, and NAVTEX marine safety broadcasts to notify other mariners of the overdue man.
The aircraft involved in today's search include the following:
•An HC-130J Hercules crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C.
•An HC-130 Hercules crew from the New York Air National Guard's 106th Rescue Wing
•A CC-130 Hercules crew from the Canadian Forces 14 Wing Greenwood in Nova Scotia
•An HU-25 Falcon jet crew from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod, Mass.
•A Navy P-3 crew from Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida
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