Video above: The USS William P. Lawrence mooring at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu
The United States Coast Guard and Navy rescued a distressed woman, her daughter and their pets from a sailboat that had been beset by weather off the coast of Hawaii.
According to a news release from the USCG, at 12:33 p.m. on Aug. 25, watchstanders at Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu received a distress alert from an emergency radio beacon approximately 925 miles east of the island.
They immediately issued a SafetyNET broadcast – the primary means for disseminating maritime safety information – to all ships in the area, organized “a query of vessels” and launched an HC-130 Hercules airplane to search for the stranded boaters.
The airplane was the first to sight the sailboat – a 47-foot French-flagged vessel named Albroc – and a mayday call was received from a 47-year-old woman aboard the boat who stated that she, her 7-year-old daughter and their pets needed to be rescued.
She also reported there was a deceased man onboard, the U.S. Coast Guard stated.
“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,” the coast guard said, adding that, at the time, on-scene weather conditions were 6-foot seas and 20 mile per hour winds.
USCG quickly requested the assistance of the U.S. Navy’s Pacific and 3rd fleets, which diverted the crew of the USS William P. Lawrence to the sailboat’s position. Watchmasters also requested the assistance of the Seri Emperor, a 754-foot Singapore-flagged liquid petroleum gas tanker that was approximately 290 miles south of the stranded boaters.
At 9 a.m. Sunday, the Hercules arrived on scene and observed the woman and child waving their arms before retreating into the cabin. Crewmembers attempted to communicate with them by hailing them on radios and dropping message blocks, but to no avail.
Hours later, at 5:20 p.m., the Seri Emperor arrived on scene but was unable to rescue the passengers due to deteriorating weather conditions caused by Hurricane Gilma; the tanker crew remained by the stranded sailboat 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 [sailboat], the William P. Lawrence had a six-hour window to safely conduct small boat recovery operations.”
Eventually – and in spite of 10-foot seas and 15 mile per hour winds – a small boat crew was able to launch and rescue the woman, her daughter, a tortoise and a cat. Due to the adverse conditions, the crew could not safely recover the deceased man, officials said.
After two more days on the water, the William P. Lawrence moored at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu, where representatives from the Coast Guard and the Honorary Consul of France in Hawaii received and provided care for the survivors.
“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 passengers,” said 3rd Fleet Commander Vice Adm. John Wade. “I’m particularly grateful for the professionalism exhibited by the crew of the USS William P. Lawrence, who executed the rescue flawlessly under extremely dangerous conditions.”
“We are grateful the crews of the Seri Emperor and William P. Lawrence were able to reach the mother and daughter, who were caught right in the path of Hurricane Gilma,” added Kevin Cooper, JRCC Honolulu search and rescue mission coordinator.
The sailboat remains adrift approximately 1,000 miles east of Honolulu, USCG said.