Boat captain died, leaving woman and child adrift 5 days in path of cyclone, USCG says

A woman, her child and their cat spent five terrifying days adrift in the path of Hurricane Gilma, after the boat’s captain died nearly 1,000 miles off Hawaii, the U.S. Coast Guard reports.

They were finally pulled to safety Wednesday, Aug. 28, after the Coast Guard and Navy coordinated a response that included an international tanker traveling nearly 300 miles out of its way, according to a Aug. 29 news release.

USCG officials say the complicated mission came together after a 47-year-old woman sent out a distress call Saturday, Aug. 25, reporting the captain of the French-flagged sailboat Albroc had died and they “were beset by weather.”

The captain’s identity and cause of death have not been released.

“Watchstanders directed the launch of an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew (which) found a French-flagged sailboat being battered by the seas and winds, positioned directly in the path of the impending Hurricane Gilma,” the U.S. Coast Guard reported in a news release.

“Over the course of the next five days, the Coast Guard teamed up with (others) to rescue the woman (and) her 7-year-old daughter,” the U.S. Coast Guard said in a post on Facebook.

A Singapore-flagged tanker named Seri Emperor reached the sailboat at 5:20 p.m. Sunday, “but was unable to safely remove the woman and child from the vessel due to deteriorating weather conditions.”

Hurricane Gilma had been categorized as a major hurricane that day, with maximum sustained winds of 130 mph, according to the NOAA.

“The tanker crew remained on scene until 5 a.m. Monday, when the (USS) William P. Lawrence arrived. With seas greater than 25 feet forecast within 12 hours of their position and the damaged condition of the Albroc, the William P. Lawrence had a six-hour window to safely conduct small boat recovery operations.”

A boat was launched from the Lawrence and its crew was able to rescue the woman and girl, along with a pet cat and a tortoise, officials said.

They were taken to Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii and met by representatives from the Honorary Consul of France in Hawaii, officials said.

The deceased captain had to be left aboard the boat, due to adverse weather conditions, officials said.

“The sailboat remains adrift approximately 1,000 miles east of Honolulu,” USCG officials said.

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