COAST GUARD officers yesterday rescued one of the competing boats in the Carib Great Race as well as a boat that was trying to get a seaside glance of the annual power boat event.

Sports Class One boat Matrix suffered mechanical problems near Grand Riviere at around 8.45 a.m. yesterday, just over an hour after it started the annual race from Trinidad to Tobago and sent a distress call to race control who then contacted the Coast Guard.

Lt. Kirk Jean Baptiste, public relations officer for the Coast Guard, confirmed they were alerted to conduct a search and rescue for the boat.

Patrol boat CG 22 was sent out to find the stranded Power Boat, who were advised to drop anchor as they continued to drift out at open sea.

Helicopters from the Air Guard and the Special Anti Crime Unit of Trinidad and Tobago were called in to assist with the search as the Matrix last put out a signal from its’ global positioning system just after 1 p.m., yesterday. An air guard helicopter was able to spot the stranded power boat and CG 22 was able to locate the boat at 3.45 p.m.

The boat was then towed back to Chaguaramas by another boat named Big Deal. the two boats were escorted by CG 22 until their arrival in Chaguaramas.

Matrix throttle-man Ricaldo Belontes suffered a back injury while out at sea,

Another boat by the name of Reel Finatics, a 40-foot cabin cruiser also suffered mechanical problems as well at around 11 a.m. yesterday. Members of the boat’s three man crew, one male, two female, placed a distress call to the Coast Guard. Patrol boat CG 21 tracked down the boat, finding them some 35 miles west of Tobago.

A technician from the CG 21 went aboard the cruiser, which had to assist them. The boat was then taken back to Store Bay. Coast Guard officials understand the boat was attempting to catch a glimpse of the Great Race when they ran into difficulty. None of the crew members were injured.