Ua Noa Missing Since July
The Coast Guard and family of Bob Arvin are asking for help finding the 49-year-old sailor who left Honolulu on July 14 bound for San Diego aboard his Cape Dory 30 Ua Noa. Arvin told a friend he was taking the "southerly route" with an ETA of September 1. Ua Noa only carries about 25 gallons of diesel so Arvin wouldn’t have been able to motor through all the calms he would have experienced by heading south.
On September 10, the Coast Guard put out a notice to mariners regarding the overdue status of Ua Noa. That same day a China-bound shipping freighter spotted Ua Noa about 1,000 miles from Honolulu in a dead calm. The sails were down so the crew tried raising the skipper on the radio — they were unsuccessful. When they eased up close to the little boat, Arvin popped up on deck and appeared to be in good condition. "He didn’t wave for assistance or otherwise seem to need any help," Coast Guard Ensign Sam Hill said, so the ship continued on its way. Five hours later, the crew heard the notice to mariners and reported Ua Noa‘s coordinates: 24°41.2′ N, 139°21.9’ W — 1,258 miles from his destination.
"The ship didn’t want to turn around so we sent another boat to that location to see if Arvin needed help," Ensign Hill said, "but they couldn’t find him." The Coast Guard estimated Arvin was traveling about one knot but even at that speed, he’s well overdue to arrive in San Diego. Everyone hopes Arvin’s southerly course sent him to Mexico and he just hasn’t been able to get in touch yet.
If you have any information on Bob Arvin or Ua Noa, please contact Search and Rescue at (510) 437-3701 or via email.