Coast Guard, Navy rescue woman, child, pets from sailboat east of Hilo
HONOLULU – The Coast Guard and Navy earlier this week rescued a distressed woman, child and their pets from a sailboat beset by weather east of Hawaii Island.
Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu watchstanders received a distress alert from an emergency position indicating radio beacon at 12:33 p.m. Saturday originating from a position approximately 700 miles east of Hilo.
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A HC-130 Hercules airplane crew was dispatched from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point.
After arriving on scene, the airplane crew sighted a 47-foot sailboat — the French-flagged vessel Albroc — and heard a mayday call from a 47-year-old woman aboard the vessel, reporting that she and her 7-year-old daughter were beset by weather and in need of rescue.
The woman also reported there was a deceased man on board.
According to the Coast Guard, the Hercules crew could not establish direct communication with the woman but saw her light two distress flares and observed the sailboat drifting and taking waves over the beam. On-scene weather conditions were 6 foot seas and 20 mph winds.
JRCC Honolulu watchstanders requested assistance from the Navy’s U.S. Pacific Fleet and U.S. 3rd Fleet, which diverted the crew of USS William P. Lawrence, a guided-missile destroyer homeported in Pearl Harbor, to the sailboat’s position.
Additionally, watchstanders requested assistance from the master of the Seri Emperor, a Singapore-flagged, 754-foot liquid petroleum gas tanker that was approximately 290 miles south of the sailboat, an 18-hour transit.
At 9 a.m. Sunday, a Hercules crew from Air Station Barbers Point arrived on scene and observed a woman and girl waving their arms before retreating inside the cabin. The aircrew unsuccessfully attempted to communicate with the two boaters by hailing them on the radio and dropping message blocks.
At 5:20 p.m. Sunday, the crew of the Seri Emperor arrived on scene but was unable to safely remove the woman and child from the vessel due to deteriorating weather conditions ahead of Hurricane Gilma approaching the area, the Coast Guard reported.
The tanker crew remained on scene until 5 a.m. Monday, when the William P. Lawrence arrived.
With seas greater than 25 feet forecast within 12 hours of their position and the damaged condition of the Albroc, the William P. Lawrence had a six-hour window to safely conduct small boat recovery operations.
A small boat crew from the Navy ship launched and rescued the woman, girl, a cat and tortoise from the sailboat.
“I am extremely proud of the crew’s professionalism in planning and executing the safe recovery of two persons at sea on a disabled vessel in worsening conditions,” said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Bobby Wayland, commanding officer of William P. Lawrence.
Due to adverse on-scene weather conditions, the crew could not safely recover the deceased individual from the sailing vessel.
“While saddened by the loss of the sailing vessel’s master, I couldn’t be prouder of the combined efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy who saved the lives of two other passengers,” said Vice Adm. John Wade, commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet.”
At 5 p.m. Wednesday, the William P. Lawrence moored at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu. Representatives from the Coast Guard and the Honorary Consul of France in Hawaii received and provided care for the survivors.
In a press release, the Coast Guard did not name the passengers or the deceased male.
The sailboat remained adrift approximately 1,000 miles east of Honolulu, the Coast Guard said today.
