A 74-year-old Canadian sailor, battered by gale-force winds and towering 30-foot seas, was pulled to safety by the crew of a luxury cruise ship after his small sailboat was crippled nearly 500 miles off the Oregon coast.
What saved his life, officials said, was something he had the foresight to pack: a handheld satellite communicator.
Canadian authorities were first to be alerted of the crisis. Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Victoria, Canada, relayed a distress call to U.S. Coast Guard Northwest District watchstanders on Monday. The sailor had injured his shoulder, and with no mast and no engine, he had no way to move the crippled boat on his own.
Because the Alice was located so far offshore—489 miles west of Tillamook, Oregon—the Coast Guard turned to one of its most powerful long-range assets. A C-27J Spartan fixed-wing plane was sent from Sacramento, California, to fly out and assess the situation. The plane, equipped to airdrop life rafts, communication gear, and rations, circled overhead as an "eye in the sky," relaying real-time information back to rescue coordinators while they worked out how to physically reach the stranded sailor.
At the same time, the Coast Guard activated the Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue system, known as AMVER—a global maritime safety network that tracks participating commercial ships around the world. Using AMVER, watchstanders quickly identified the nearest available ship and put out the call for help.
That vessel was the Silver Whisper, a luxury cruise ship sailing from Hawaii to Vancouver. Its crew answered the Coast Guard's request and diverted 120 miles off course to reach the stranded sailor. A second C-27J plane from Sacramento launched to provide overhead communication and coordination as the ship moved in.
When the Silver Whisper arrived, its crew successfully lifted the injured man off the Alice and brought him aboard. The ship's onboard medical team cared for him for the remainder of the voyage until the Silver Whisper reached Vancouver.
"This mariner's experience and preparedness allowed the Coast Guard and other agencies to communicate with him and effect a rescue," said Scott Giard, Coast Guard Northwest District Search and Rescue Program Manager. "His foresight to bring a satellite communicator averted a tragedy. We would also like to thank Silver Whisper for their assistance with this rescue."