ST. PETERSBURG, Florida — Two boaters, who were adrift in the Gulf of Mexico for several days, were rescued by a tug boat crew 90 miles northwest of Tarpon Springs, Fla., Thursday night.

The boaters left from Captiva Island, Fla., on June 18 and were scheduled to arrive in Cancun, Mexico, five days later but never did.

A man aboard the tug barge Rikki S. spotted the men around 6:30 p.m. on a raft 90 miles northwest of Tarpon Springs and rescued them. The boaters told the good Samaritan they had been lost at sea after their barge sank.

The good Samaritan called the Coast Guard Cutter Bonito, from Pensacola, Fla., arrived and transported the men to the Coast Guard sector in St. Petersburg.

The Coast Guard recommends all mariners equip their boats with emergency position indicating radio beacons and/or their life jackets with personal locator beacons.

EPIRBs and PLBs may be activated manually by the push of a button or automatically when they enter the water, depending on the model.