An 86-year-old man and his dog are safe after spending more than two months adrift on a disabled sailboat hundreds of miles off the California coast. The Coast Guard announced the rescue Friday.
The man set out from Astoria, Oregon, bound for Pago Pago, American Samoa. Contact with him was lost on Aug. 20. No one reported him overdue until Oct. 24, when the Coast Guard launched a search for him and his vessel, the Willow Wind.
Three days into the search, the Coast Guard picked up an emergency beacon alert transmitting from the boat. Crews scrambled a Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento C-27 Spartan aircrew, diverted an HC-130 Hercules aircrew, and sent the Coast Guard Cutter Robert Ward to the area. Nearby commercial vessels were asked to help look.
That evening, a Coast Guard aircrew located the Willow Wind about 460 miles off San Diego. The motor vessel Grand Orion arrived at the scene early the next morning, but rough seas made a rescue too dangerous at first.
Later that day, the Grand Orion crew managed to bring the man and his dog aboard safely, leaving the Willow Wind drifting at sea with damaged sails. The next morning, a Coast Guard helicopter crew lifted the pair off the Grand Orion roughly 170 miles west of Ventura, California, and flew them to San Diego.
The man was taken to Scripps Mercy Hospital for evaluation. The Coast Guard has not released details about his condition.
“We are grateful to the merchant mariners and Coast Guard crews whose coordinated efforts brought this search to a successful conclusion,” Coast Guard Cmdr. Jason Nguyen said. “This case highlights the importance of carrying emergency communication equipment and creating a float plan, so someone ashore knows your voyage plans.”
The Coast Guard could not be reached for further comment.
