US Navy and Coast Guard rescue mother, child, cat and turtle

A 47-year-old woman, a boat captain, her 7-year-old daughter, their cat and their pet turtle were on a sailboat off Hawaii enjoying a beautiful ride on the ocean… until something went wrong.

The group encountered heavy weather and was stranded. They were now nearly a thousand miles off the coast of Honolulu with no help in sight.

Hoping to reach anyone nearby, Mom made some Mayday calls.

Fortunately, the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard were able to help.

US Navy and Coast Guard rescue mother, child, cat and turtle stranded at sea

Shortly after noon, the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu received a distress call from a boat. According to MIlitaryTimes.com, the Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu responded by dispatching a crew from an HC-130 Hercules aircraft from Coast Guard Airfield Barbers Point to coordinate a rescue.

This was difficult because when they used the helicopter they had no way of communicating with the sailboat or its occupants due to the interference caused by Hurricane Gilma, which was raging around them at the time.

And now things are getting crazy: Normally the Coast Guard takes care of such things, but since they couldn't reach anyone on the boat in distress, they called the Navy for backup.

The pilots of the HC-130 Hercules therefore asked the US Third Fleet and the US Pacific Fleet for help. This is a big request, but the Navy sent the US Pacific Fleet's guided missile destroyer William P. Lawrence, which is stationed in Pearl Harbor.

A massive Navy ship and Coast Guard aircraft were now en route, attempting to locate this distressed sailboat with valuable cargo on board more than 900 miles off Hawaii.

When the Navy destroyer arrived, the seas were too rough (due to the hurricane) for them to perform the rescue. They waited near the ship until they found a perfect window of time to perform the rescue.

Sadly, the sailboat and its captain remain lost at sea. He died and could neither be rescued nor brought back.

“I am saddened by the loss of the sailing vessel's captain, but I am incredibly proud of the joint efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Navy in saving the lives of two other passengers,” said Vice Admiral John Wade, Commander of the U.S. 3rd Fleet.

Evan Paul is the moderator of Taste of Country Nightsa syndicated radio show heard nightly from 7pm-midnight on more than 130 country radio stations nationwide. He plays the best new country music and interviews today's top stars including Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, Dan + Shay, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Chris Stapleton, Lady A and more!

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