Coast Guard and Navy Rescue Woman, Daughter, Pets from Sailboat in Hawaii
The U.S. Coast Guard and Navy have successfully rescued a woman, her daughter, a cat, and a tortoise from a sailboat off the coast of Hawaii after it was beset by stormy weather.
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The dramatic rescue effort began on August 24 when watchstanders at the Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) Honolulu received a distress alert from an emergency radio beacon about 925 miles east of Hawaii. The watchstanders immediately issued a SafetyNET broadcast and launched an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew to search for the stranded people.
The airplane crew spotted the 47-foot French-flagged vessel called Albroc with a 47-year-old woman aboard. The woman issued a mayday call, reporting that she, her seven-year-old daughter, and their pets needed rescuing.
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She also informed the crew that there was a deceased man on the boat. The Hercules crew was unable to establish direct communication with the woman but observed her lighting distress flares and the sailboat drifting and taking waves over the beam.
The watchstanders requested assistance from the Navy's Pacific Fleet and 3rd Fleet, which diverted the USS William P. Lawrence, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, to the sailboat's position. They also asked for assistance from the Seri Emperor, a 754-foot Singapore-flagged liquid petroleum gas tanker that was about 290 miles south of the sailboat.
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A Hercules crew arrived at the scene on August 25 and observed the woman and girl waving their arms before retreating inside the cabin. The aircrew attempted to communicate with the boaters but was unsuccessful.
Later that day, the Seri Emperor arrived but was unable to rescue the boaters due to deteriorating weather conditions. The tanker crew remained near the sailboat until August 26, when the William P. Lawrence arrived.
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The William P. Lawrence had a six-hour window to safely conduct boat recovery operations, noting the high seas and the damaged condition of the sailboat. A small boat crew from the Navy ship launched and rescued the woman, girl, and their pets from the sailboat.
However, due to the weather conditions, the deceased man could not be safely recovered. Representatives from the Coast Guard and the Honorary Consul of France in Hawaii received the survivors at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu.
The sailboat remains adrift about 1,000 miles east of Honolulu, and the Coast Guard expressed gratitude for the combined efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy in saving the lives of the two passengers.
