Coast Guard, responding vessels rescue 4 U.S. boaters from life raft on the Atlantic Ocean

Coast Guard aircrew, the crew of the Crowley container ship El Coquí and the men aboard a fishing vessel rescued four men from a life raft in Atlantic Ocean’s Silver Bank waters north of Dominican Republic, Tuesday.  Rescued are U.S. Citizens David Potts, 63; John Potts, 62; Andrew Cullar, 26; and Russel Case, 67, who were forced to abandon the sailing vessel Mariposa after the vessel reportedly struck a submerged rock and was then overtaken by a wave which caused the vessel to roll on its port side.  The vessel struck another rock which breached the vessel’s hull and started taking on water while additional waves flooded the vessel before sinking.  The vessel Mariposa was on a voyage from St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands to Portofino, Tx, with an anticipated stop in Key West, Fla.