14 DAY TRIAL // An experienced sailor has fallen overboard in the Pacific while steering a sailboat, prompting an intensive search by the Coast Guard.
According to Zee News, the man is a British citizen who was traveling with another British man on the boat.
Rescue teams managed to find the passenger who had little experience in sailing and couldn't steer the boat. He is alive and no injuries have been reported after the rescue mission.
The boat was located in a remote area, 500 miles (800 km) west of the Midway Atoll, some 2,000 miles (3,220 km) from the island of Oahu.
The Hawaii Coast Guard received a call for help at roughly 11.30 p.m. on Saturday, April 27. They were alerted to the fact that the men needed help by the British Marine Rescue Coordination Center Falmouth.
Petty Officer Eric J. Chandler, speaking for the Coast Guard, describes that the skipper is a 35-year-old man wearing a yellow life jacket.
He was not unconscious when he fell in the water, Chandler detailed on Sunday, adding that officials were set on continuing search efforts.
"People sail pretty often pretty far out of reach. [...] I don't think that it's that unusual," he says.
Rescue teams were sent out by boat, facing strong winds of 40 kph (25 mph), as well as by plane. The Coast Guard dispatched an HC-130 Hercules aircraft from Oahu.
The Navy contributed in the search efforts, spotting the 40-foot (12-meter) drifting at sea from one of two helicopters sent from the USS Peleliu assault ship.
"It's real challenging out there. [...] We can't get our cutters out there," Chandler described.
The sailboat was located the next day, with one unidentified man on board. He was brought on board the Navy chopper at approximately 5 a.m. on Sunday, April 28.