North Coast Rescue
The Coast Guard rescued three sailors 53 miles west of Eureka at dawn on Friday. The 55-ft sailboat Kaloni was transiting from Bellingham, WA, to San Francisco when the crew called USCG Sector Humboldt Bay at 10 p.m. on Thursday.
The skipper told the Coasties that he’d lost engine power and the boat’s sails were torn. He and his crew (whose names have not yet been released) were in no immediate danger, but were unable to control the sailboat. The weather conditions offshore deteriorated through the night, with winds of 35 knots and a sea swell of 15-20 feet. As you might imagine, after several hours of this, the crew became seasick. As the seas were becoming increasingly dangerous, the distressed sailors requested immediate evacuation by the Coast Guard.
Sector Humboldt Bay dispatched a MH-65D helicopter piloted by Lt. Cmdr. Jason Bustamente and Lt. Cameron Welicka. When they located Kaloni, the wind was at 55+ knots and the seas had built to 25 feet. After two unsuccessful attempts to place a rescue swimmer, Petty Officer 2nd Class Max Kaczmarek, aboard the distressed vessel, the rescue crew lowered him alongside the sailboat, the sailors entered the ocean, and the Coasties hoisted them from the heavy seas one by one. None of the three sailors were injured.
"Those were by far the largest waves I have ever seen," commented Lt. Welicka.
"Fortunately, the sailors had the appropriate communications equipment to call for help," said Capt. Art Snyder, commander of Sector Humboldt Bay.