A mother and her seven-year-old daughter have been rescued after being stranded nearly 1,000 miles off the coast of Hawaii when Hurricane Gilma made landfall.
On August 24, shortly after noon, authorities received a distress call from the 46-foot sailboat, reporting that the family was stranded.
The U.S. Coast Guard sent out an alert to all ships in the area and sent a plane to search for the family. The plane found the ship, a French-flagged vessel named Albroc, around 9 a.m. on Aug. 25.
The mother, who said in her mayday call that the boat had been “battered by the weather,” was seen signaling distress signals to the drifting boat as water washed over the beam of the vessel. She and her daughter waved their arms before heading back inside.
The crew was initially unable to reach the family due to the harsh conditions. But the woman, 47, her young daughter and their pet cat and turtle were eventually rescued and taken to Honolulu around 5 a.m. the next day.
The ship’s male captain, whose relationship to the couple is unclear, died while on board, Coast Guard said. His body could not be recovered due to weather conditions.
A woman and her daughter, stranded nearly 1,000 miles off the coast of Hawaii when Hurricane Gilma made landfall, embrace on the deck of the USS William P. Lawrence as the ship approaches Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu on August 28, 2024.
The French-flagged sailing ship Albroc is pictured during rescue operations in the Pacific Ocean on August 26, 2024. Authorities received a distress call from the 47-foot sailboat just after noon on August 24, informing them that the family was stranded
Authorities at the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu received the distress signal from the Albroc at 12:33 p.m. on Saturday, August 24.
The mother said she and her daughter had to be rescued after being stranded by the weather, and revealed that a man was deceased on board.
The Coast Guard dispatched an aircrew from Barbers Point Coast Guard Airfield, which found the Albroc around 9 a.m. Sunday about 925 miles east of Honolulu.
But Hurricane Gilma was approaching the region and conditions were too rough for rescuers to reach the ship. Officials reported waves up to 6 feet high and wind gusts of 20 mph.
The Coast Guard called in the Navy for assistance, including a 229-metre-long liquid petroleum gas tanker that arrived at the scene at 5:20 p.m., more than eight hours after the plane first spotted the boat.
However, the tanker was unable to reach the boat due to weather conditions.
A small Navy crew was finally able to carry out the rescue mission around 5 a.m. on Monday, August 26. Officials said they had only six hours to get the family to safety due to the condition of the boat.
A 7-year-old girl hugs a Navy sailor at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu on Aug. 28, 2024. The Navy ship launched a small boat crew to rescue the girl, her mother, their cat and turtle after their sailboat was battered by weather in the path of an approaching hurricane
The crew of a small boat sails away from the French-flagged sailing ship Albroc after recovering the mother and daughter during rescue operations in the Pacific Ocean on August 26, 2024
The mother, who said in her distress call that the Albroc (pictured) had been “battered by the weather”, was seen signalling to the drifting boat as water washed over the beam of the vessel. She and her daughter waved their arms before heading back inside the cabin
The woman, child and their pets were rescued and arrived safely at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Honolulu on Wednesday evening. Representatives of the Coast Guard and the Honorary Consul of France in Hawaii cared for the survivors.
The captain’s body was left behind on the ship, which remains adrift in the ocean. Authorities have not said whether there are plans to salvage the ship.
The cause of death and the circumstances under which the family was on the boat as the hurricane was heading toward the crash are still under investigation.
“Through tireless planning, coordination and teamwork, our rangers were able to put together the key elements for such a dynamic search and rescue operation,” said Kevin Cooper, search and rescue mission coordinator.
“We are grateful that the Seri Emperor and William P. Lawrence were able to reach the mother and daughter, who were directly in the path of Hurricane Gilma.”
At the time of the rescue operation, Gilma was approximately 480 miles east of the ships and had maximum winds of 110 miles per hour.
“I am extremely proud of the professionalism of the crew in planning and executing the safe rescue of two individuals at sea on a stranded vessel in increasingly deteriorating conditions,” said U.S. Navy Commander Bobby Wayland.
The USS William P. Lawrence (DDG 110), an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer homeported in Honolulu, Hawaii, approaches the pier at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam after completing the rescue of a woman, a child and their pets on Aug. 28, 2024.
“My boat crew – especially the helmsman – demonstrated deft boat handling and good judgment in approaching the distressed vessel and transferring survivors. I also appreciate the remarkable coordination and information provided by the USCG throughout the operation – it was very cool to see the Navy/Coast Guard team work so smoothly together.”
Vice Admiral John Wade, commander of the U.S. 3rd Fleet, added: While I am saddened by the loss of the sailing ship’s captain, I could not be more proud of the combined efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy that saved the lives of two other passengers.
“I am especially grateful for the professionalism of the crew of the USS William P. Lawrence, who executed the rescue operation flawlessly under extremely dangerous conditions.”
