Janice R. Andrews
The U.S. Coast Guard and Navy worked together to save the lives of a mother, her young daughter, and their pets from a yacht that got stuck in the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. The escape was so dramatic and life-saving that it could have been a scene from a Hollywood movie. The ship was a 47-foot sailboat with a French flag on it. It was very close to Hurricane Gilma that put it in danger. As the storm got worse, so did the risks for the people on board the trapped ship.
Stranded sailboat sends out a distress signal in dangerous weather
This happened on August 24 at 12:33 p.m. local time, when the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu got a distress call. The call came from a sailboat about 925 miles off the coast of Honolulu. The sailboat was being smashed by Hurricane Gilma’s rough seas and strong winds. A 47-year-old woman on board the ship was able to say that she and her 7-year-old daughter were stuck in the storm and needed to be rescued right away. It was also disturbing that she said a guy had died; it turned out to be the ship’s captain.
When the mayday call came in, a Coast Guard plane crew quickly took off from Barbers Point Air Station, which is near Honolulu, to find the Albroc. Even though the weather was rough, with winds blowing up to 20 miles per hour and waves up to six feet high, the group was able to find the sailboat that was in trouble. They saw the woman setting off two flares as an emergency signal, but the bad weather made it hard to talk to the ship directly.
An improbable race against time as the weather gets worse
As Hurricane Gilma got stronger, it became clear that the rescue operation would be very hard. Because things were getting worse and things were very bad on board, the Coast Guard decided to ask the U.S. Navy for more help. By Sunday morning, a second Coast Guard plane crew had seen the mother and daughter waving from the cabin of the sailboat, but they still couldn’t get in touch via radio.
Around 5:20 p.m. that day, a Singaporean-flagged ship crew came from 290 miles south to help with the rescue. However, the team couldn’t get to the Albroc safely because things were getting more dangerous as Hurricane Gilma got closer. As time went on, the rescue plan became more and more important.
The Navy joins the mission, and the daring rescue begins.
The guided-missile destroyer USS William P. Lawrence, part of the Navy, arrived in the area on August 26 to try a bold rescue. It was very important to act quickly. The Albroc was quickly breaking down, and the forecast for bad weather gave them about six hours to safely carry out the rescue. The Coast Guard and Navy teams working together knew they had to move quickly and effectively.
Along with U.S. Navy Cmdr. Bobby Wayland, a small boat crew from the USS William P. Lawrence was sent to find the Albroc. The rescue team was able to get on the struggling ship despite rough seas and strong winds. The operation to get the mother, her daughter, and their two pets—a cat and a tortoise—out of harm’s way was tense and difficult.
Safe Harbor and Questions That Haven’t Been Answered
The rescue team safely put the people and their pets on the destroyer. The destroyer then went back to Honolulu’s Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. The tired mother and daughter got medical help right away when they got there on Wednesday night.
Sadly, the dangerous conditions meant that the body of the guy who died, who was named as the sailboat’s master, could not be found. His body was left on the Albroc, which is now drifting in the ocean about 1,000 miles east of Honolulu. His death and the reason the ship was so close to the hurricane’s path are still unknown to the authorities.
“I am extremely proud of the crew’s professionalism in planning and carrying out the safe recovery of two persons at sea on a disabled vessel in worsening conditions,” Cmdr. Bobby Wayland said of his crew’s bravery and skill. It’s really cool to see how well the Navy and Coast Guard work together.
An Amazing Case of Easy Working Together
The brave rescue near Hawaii is a great example of how dedicated and skilled the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy are. They worked together perfectly in dangerous conditions to save two lives and their beloved pets. Even though there are still a lot of questions about what happened, it is clear that these service members did something very brave. This rescue action shows how important it is to be ready, strong, and work together during situations at sea and during natural disasters.
As the remains of Hurricane Gilma fade over Hawaii, this story of survival and bravery will be remembered as a great example of how to be brave and work together in the worst of situations.
