24479: (news) Chamberlain: Caribbean Rescue (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

   By KEN MAGUIRE

   BOSTON (AP), March 10 -- College students aboard a research vessel in
the Caribbean rescued 49 Haitians from a disabled sailboat and brought them
to a Jamaican port Thursday.
   Students enrolled in the program run by the Falmouth-based Sea Education
Association say the Haitians were packed on a tiny sailboat and had run out
of food and water.
   "They were really frantic and they were afraid we were going to abandon
them," said University of Denver senior Anita Kasch, 22, who spoke to them
in French. "I reassured them several times we weren't going to leave them."
   The Haitians were turned over to Jamaican authorities at Port Antonio.
   Twenty-two students and a crew of 11 were anchored aboard the Corwith
Cramer about 45 miles north of Jamaica on Wednesday to conduct research.
That's when the 25-foot sailboat came into view, and one man waved a red
flag.
   The disabled vessel carrying 35 adults and 14 children had lost its
mast. It had been at sea for five days.
   "They reported to us that they wanted to get to Jamaica to work, to earn
some money," said Corwith Cramer Capt. Steve Tarrant.
   The U.S. Coast Guard and Jamaican authorities were notified, but with
any help hours away, the students and Corwith Cramer crew decided to take
the Haitians aboard. Among the children were seven toddlers and one infant.
   "We studied the Caribbean and the politics but we had not seen it,
really. We all learned a lot," said University of Michigan junior Sarah
Herard, 21.
   The Sea Education Association is a nonprofit that runs a 12-week
semester at sea for undergraduates.