Rescue At Sea

On Friday, January 19th, we were sailing along blissfully about 80 miles off the coast of Brazil headed south to our next stop in Vitoria.  There were no other vessels in sight and no land to be seen.  At about 5:00 p.m. local time, Captain Elliott came on the public address system and made an announcement that we were slowing down dramatically.  The ship received a distress call from a small vessel off our starboard side that has a medical emergency.  The ship would check it out.  We went up to the front of the ship to watch from the top deck.  We scanned the water to the West and finally spotted a sailboat coming our way.  It was just a tiny speck at this point.  As we continued to slow down, the sailboat sailed toward us.  Apparently, it takes our ship about 1/2 mile to come to a complete stop in an emergency.  After a while, we were completely stopped, but of course we were in open water.  While the sea was not rough, there were continuous swells.

As the sailboat approached us, it appeared to be about a 35 foot boat and was flying a Swedish flag.  There were 3 people aboard...2 men and 1 woman.  The woman was hurt or sick.  As the older man steered the boat, the younger man put out bumpers along the side rails to prepare to possibly dock with one of our ship’s platforms.  During one dramatic moment, the woman crawled along the side of the sailboat clinging to the railing and clutching her side as if in pain to be ready to transfer off the sailboat.  It was gut wrenching to watch.  The driver struggled to maneuver the sailboat in the sea swells as she clung to the rail.  It was too dangerous to dock.

Captain Elliott announced that one of the ship’s vessels would be launched for the rescue.  We watched the crew lower a tender boat into the water with several crew members aboard.  We were unsure if the doctor was with them.  They maneuvered the tender alongside the sailboat and tossed a line to the younger man and they were able to tie up.  The woman and the younger man were transferred to the tender bringing a couple of personal bags.  The tender returned to the ship and was raised to the 5th deck to off load the patient.  The sailboat sailed away just as it was getting dark after sunset.

The sailboat took its sails down as it got close to our ship

The sailboat attempts to maneuver for docking

Sailboat struggles in swells

The distressed woman climbs to the side of
the sailboat in obvious pain

A ship tender is launched for the rescue

Tricky maneuvering in the sea swells

 

Good work by the tender crew transferring the passengers

 

Boat sails away after the transfer

All of the passengers applauded when Captain Elliott reported they were aboard and she was receiving medical care.

We heard the next morning that “she had a good night”, but we have not heard any further details on what the emergency was.  We all wish her the best.  We assume she will be taken off in Vitoria on Sunday.

What would have happened to her if our ship had not been in the area?  There was absolutely nothing else around...no freighters, no fishing vessels, no land.  They were fortunate.