British Sailor Lost Overboard in Pacific

An experienced 38-year-old British sailor crossing from Osaka, Japan — where he’d been working for the last three years — to Hawaii, with plans to continue on to Southampton, UK, reportedly fell overboard on Saturday night about 575 miles west of Midway Atoll. Luke Stimson’s fiancée, Laura Vernon, contacted authorities via sat phone after Stimson fell overboard — conscious and wearing a PFD — in 25-knot winds and 6-ft seas. According to news reports, Vernon was an inexperienced sailor and could only watch as the 38-ft Jonetsu sailed away from Stimson. She was rescued by a Navy helo Sunday morning.