The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard completed the rescue of a distressed woman, child and their pets from a sailboat beset by weather 925 miles offshore Honolulu.Photo:
U.S. Navy photo by Chief Warrant Officer 2 Lance Watson
The U.S. Coast Guard recently undertook a dayslong operation to rescue a mother, her young daughter and their pets who were stranded in the Pacific Ocean, along with a deceased man’s body, during Hurricane Gilma.
The rescue efforts initially began on Aug. 24, when officials received a distress alert approximately 925 miles east of Honolulu from the Joint Rescue Coordination Center (JRCC) Honolulu at 12:33 p.m local time, according to a news release from Coast Guard officials in the Pacific.
Upon arriving at the scene of the alert, a U.S. Coast Guard airplane crew saw a 47-foot sailboat, flying under a French flag, and heard a mayday call from a 47-year-old woman aboard the vessel reporting that she and her 7-year-old daughter were in need of rescue and that a man’s dead body was on board as well, the release states.
The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard completed the rescue of a distressed woman, child and their pets from a sailboat beset by weather 925 miles offshore Honolulu.
U.S. Navy photo by Chief Warrant Officer 2 Lance Watson
While in the midst of weather conditions that included “6-foot seas and 20 mph winds,” a Coast Guard airplane crew was unable to establish “direct communication with the woman but saw her light two distress flares and observed the sailboat drifting and taking waves over the beam,” officials said.
To further assist in the rescue, Coast Guard officials requested support from both the Navy and the Seri Emperor vessel, a Singapore-flagged, 754-foot liquid petroleum gas tanker that was 290 miles from the sailboat and 18 hours away.
Early on Aug. 25, at approximately 9 a.m. local time, the Coast Guard airplane crew saw the woman and her daughter signaling for help by waving their arms — but unfortunately, the attempts to communicate with them via radio and message blocks were unsuccessful.
Later that day, at 5:20 p.m. local time, the Seri Emperor had also arrived but due to extreme weather conditions caused by Hurricane Gilma, it was unable to rescue the woman and her daughter either — though the crew remained until 5 a.m. on Aug. 26, when another vessel, the William P. Lawrence arrived, according to the Coast Guard.
With just six hours to complete the rescue, the William P. Lawrence along with a boat crew from the Navy rescued the woman, her daughter and their pets, a cat and tortoise, from the boat, officials said.
However, the deceased man could not be recovered safely due to weather conditions at the time that were described by the Coast Guard as “8 to 10-foot seas and 15 mph winds.”
The man was identified as the boat’s master. It’s not clear how he died. (Representatives from the Coast Guard did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for additional comment.)
The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard completed the rescue of a distressed woman, child and their pets from a sailboat beset by weather 925 miles offshore Honolulu.
U.S. Navy photo by Chief Warrant Officer 2 Lance Watson
Speaking about the operation, Vice Adm. John Wade, commander, U.S. 3rd Fleet, said in a statement that “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.”
“I’m particularly grateful for the professionalism exhibited by the crew of USS William P. Lawrence who executed the rescue flawlessly under extremely dangerous conditions,” he said.
The U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard completed the rescue of a distressed woman, child and their pets from a sailboat beset by weather 925 miles offshore Honolulu.
U.S. Navy photo by Chief Warrant Officer 2 Lance Watson
On Wednesday, Aug. 28, the mother, daughter and their pets arrived at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu and received care from the Coast Guard and the Honorary Consul of France in Hawaii, per officials.
The sailboat currently remains adrift “1,000 miles east of Honolulu,” the Coast Guard said.
