Quantum Leap Abandoned

Longtime sailors Bill Finkelstein and Mary Mack of the Santa Rosa-based Valiant 50 Raptor Dance were a little embarassed to tell us they were making a passage to Hawaii, not aboard a sailboat but aboard a cruise ship. Ironically, one of the most exciting moments of the crossing came last October 6 when their ship, 815-ft Celebrity Century, was diverted to rescue the crew of the 48-ft aluminum sailboat Quantum Leap 600 miles from landfall.

"The master of the Celebrity Century did a fantastic job piloting the ship to windward of the crippled sailboat," reported Bill, "while the safety officer piloted a tender to effect the transfer." The sailboat’s injured captain, Phillip Johnson, 62, of Washington state, was stabilized aboard the 1,800-passenger vessel by the ship’s medical staff. After being transfered upon arrival at Hawaii to Hilo Medical Center, it was learned that he’d suffered five broken vertebrae and a cracked rib when his boat was "hit from the side by a wave," which hurled Johnson across the cabin in the galley. His two crewmen were uninjured, but the boat suffered serious damage, including loss of power.

It should be noted that this offshore rescue was substantially expedited because Johnson had a satellite phone on board, which he used to give Coast Guard personnel in Hawaii the exact coordinates of his vessel, while alerting them to the complete details of his emergency. Mariners en route to Hawaii should be aware Quantum Leap was abandoned, and is presumed to be adrift heading west with prevailing winds and currents.