HONOLULU —The Coast Guard is coordinating the rescue of a 42-foot sailboat caught in Hurricane Julio 414 miles northeast of Oahu.
The rescue operation began on Sunday. A container ship crew rescued three people from the sailboat on Monday.
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here to watch Coast Guard video of the sailboat. The video has no audio.
Coast Guard Chief Warrant Officer Gene Maestas says the sailors were pulled aboard the container ship at about 8 a.m. He says all three are safe and in good condition.
Maestas says the three people were sailing the 42-foot Walkabout from California to Hawaii when they got into trouble over the weekend. They sent a message for help Sunday morning after the boat became disabled and took on water.
The Matson Inc. container ship Manukai reached them Sunday night but had to wait for conditions for improve before evacuating the stranded sailors.
The people rescued have been identified as 61-year-old Ben Nealy, 22-year-old Lee Nealy, and 22-year-old Mike Vanway.
The 42-foot sailboat enroute from Stockton, Calif., to Honolulu, was dismasted and flooding with three passengers aboard.
The 661-foot Matson container ship Manukai safely embarked the three passengers at 7:52 a.m. Monday.
The container ship successfully shot a line to the sailboat’s crew and pulled the sailboat and crew alongside the ship. The passengers disembarked the sailboat and climbed a 30-foot ladder draped over the side of Manukai’s hull.
On scene conditions Monday morning were reported winds of 20 mph with 13-foot seas.
The Walkabout remains adrift. The Coast Guard has issued a warning notifying mariners of the hazard to navigation.
