Stranded woman, child, tortoise, and cat rescued in Hawaii

The United States Coast Guard and Navy rescued a mother and her 7-year-old child alongside their pet tortoise and cat from a sailboat nearly 1,000 miles off the coast of Hawaii during Hurricane Gilma’s landfall last week after the boat’s captain died. 

Watchstanders at the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu received an alert from an emergency radio beacon notifying them of the stranded family on Aug. 25 around noon, according to a news release from the USCG.

The center broadcasted the alert to all ships in the area and sent out an HC-130 Hercules airplane to search for the family. 

The sailboat, a 47-foot French-flagged vessel named Albroc, was first spotted by the Hercules plane. When it was within range, it picked up the 47-year-old woman’s mayday call. 

She stated that it was just her and her daughter onboard along with the body of the deceased male captain. It was not clear how he died, or when. His relationship to the woman and her child was not immediately released by officials.

The waters were too rough to reach the Albroc when it was first spotted.

Hurricane Gilma was gearing up to hit the mainland and causing waves up to 6 feet high and winds up to 20 miles per hour. 

The crew on the scene requested more assistance from the Navy, including a 754-foot liquid petroleum gas tanker that arrived at 5:20 p.m. – just over eight hours after the Hercules had spotted the stranded Albroc. 

However, there wasn’t an open rescue window until 5 a.m. when conditions finally grew less rocky – and not a moment too soon as Hurricane Gilma grew closer.

The mom and daughter and their pets were rescued and safely returned to Honolulu. 

Just 12 hours after the survivors were rescued, waves where their boat had been stranded reached up to 25 feet high, about half the length of the damaged Albroc. 

“My boat crew – in particular the coxswain – demonstrated deft boat handling and good judgement in approaching the distressed vessel and transferring the survivors,” U.S. Navy Cmdr. Bobby Wayland, commanding officer of one of the rescue vessels, said in a news release.

“I also appreciate the remarkable coordination and information provided by the USCG throughout the entire operation–very cool to see the Navy / Coast Guard team work together so smoothly.” 

The crews could not rescue the body of deceased man due to the worsening conditions. The Albroc was also unable to be salvaged and remains adrift at sea.