Breeze rescues stranded sailors

[ultrafighter]

Posted in the FB group for my upcoming Breeze cruise, they stopped early this morning on their way back to Galveston to rescue some folks in a disabled sailboat.  Pretty cool!

 

 

[4hunters]

Very cool.  Thanks for sharing.  I wonder how far off the Texas coast they were when this occurred?  I have a similarly-sized sloop (although much older than the one in the video) that I've taken 40ish miles offshore a few times.  I guess that's the distance where my comfort level begins to drop and feel the need to tack back home. 😁

[firefly333]

I was on this cruise. The CD voice doesnt carry well. I heard she made a announcement about 230 am. I heard the one at 4 am but couldnt understand anything except the word Galveston.  This morning crew thought maybe a hour late. Platinum met at 715, so I went down about 630. Didnt rush as I knew we were late. 

 

Then they said maybe we would dock at 930, then said 10 am. 

 

I missed the excitement. Some saw helicopter lights. We were wondering what 3 men and 2 dogs were doing so far out in the ocean. 

[K&RCurt]

2 hours ago, firefly333 said:

We were wondering what 3 men and 2 dogs were doing so far out in the ocean. 

Sailing to the Caribbean or Mexico.

[woodey]

awesome they did that

[firefly333]

1 hour ago, K&RCurt said:

Sailing to the Caribbean or Mexico.

Lol in a little sailboat that capsized? We wondered where the 2 dogs wound up too. 

 

I heard we had to turn back to go get them. They kept announcing it was maritime law we had to go rescue them. Not that anyone wanted them to drown. .. I just wish it wasnt during the middle of the night all this happened while I was sleeping. 

[Host Kat]

6 hours ago, 4hunters said:

... I wonder how far off the Texas coast they were when this occurred? 

 

The following is the Carnival Breeze off course track for the rescue:

 

 

Thanks to CamOp2, the above was posted about 5:00 AM today in the Galveston.com Webcam Chat. 

 

23 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

... We wondered where the 2 dogs wound up too...

 

And also thanks to Rhonda for posting a screen capture about 10:45 AM in Chat. The dogs are back on dry land again:

 

[ultrafighter]

I was watching the webcam yesterday morning and totally didn't put two and two together when I saw the dogs down there.  I was thinking drug sniffing dogs with no uniformed handlers or something....  🤦‍♀️  It was a brunette blonde moment I guess.  😆😆😆

[cruisingguy007]

Great PR story! Glad everything worked out. 

[Host Kat]

13 hours ago, ultrafighter said:

I was watching the webcam yesterday morning and totally didn't put two and two together when I saw the dogs down there.  I was thinking drug sniffing dogs with no uniformed handlers or something....  🤦‍♀️  It was a brunette blonde moment I guess.  😆😆😆

 

Yeah, I have those too... but at my age I get to call them "senior brain fart moments"!

 

Next time, check out the Webcam Chat in the bottom left of the screen.

 

[RWolver672]

I never gave it a thought until watching the video but what happens to the disabled boat.  Do the just leave it there.  It almost looked like towards the end of the video that they were towing it back home.  

 

Another thing, what happens to the three men coming through customs when they get back to Galveston?  No passports or birth certificates.  Do they just wave them through?  

[mondello]

1 hour ago, RWolver672 said:

I never gave it a thought until watching the video but what happens to the disabled boat.  Do the just leave it there.  It almost looked like towards the end of the video that they were towing it back home.  

 

Another thing, what happens to the three men coming through customs when they get back to Galveston?  No passports or birth certificates.  Do they just wave them through?  

Looked like the boat had drifted over beside the ship while they were picked up in the tender, you can see the ship separating and pulling away from the boat. 

Have to assume the boat is valuable enough they will have to pay a salvage/towing company to retrieve the boat for repair.

It shouldn't be too difficult to verify their identity with drivers license photos, boat registration, property records, and family/relatives.

Seemed to be distant lights of other ships in the video? 

My question is: why couldn't they use their sails?

[RWolver672]

5 minutes ago, mondello said:

My question is: why couldn't they use their sails?

 

I was wondering that too.  Other than the fact that it was night and probably not too much wind. 

Even if that was the case, after daylight, the wind should have picked up.

[nlktx49]

I would love to hear the "rest of the story" about this! I, too, wondered why they didn't unfurl the sails and make it to land. 

[K&RCurt]

On 11/5/2021 at 12:21 AM, firefly333 said:

Lol in a little sailboat that capsized? We wondered where the 2 dogs wound up too. 

 

It never capsized.

 

The lights were still on in the sailboat. 

 

Most likely they had an issue with the engine / generator or rudder or it was taking on water.  It looked to be about a 30' Sloop which is quite capable of crossing the Gulf of Mexico and sailing around the Caribbean.  Issues happen on any boat or ship.  However there is nothing reckless or crazy about sailing a sailboat to the Caribbean.  Literally thousands of sailors do it from up and down the East coast, around the Gulf of Mexico and even from Europe every year. 

[K&RCurt]

On 11/6/2021 at 8:09 AM, RWolver672 said:

 

I was wondering that too.  Other than the fact that it was night and probably not too much wind. 

Even if that was the case, after daylight, the wind should have picked up.

The issue could have been with the rudder, thus no steering or it could have been taking on water.

[K&RCurt]

On 11/6/2021 at 6:30 AM, RWolver672 said:

I never gave it a thought until watching the video but what happens to the disabled boat.  Do the just leave it there.  It almost looked like towards the end of the video that they were towing it back home.  

 

Another thing, what happens to the three men coming through customs when they get back to Galveston?  No passports or birth certificates.  Do they just wave them through?  

I am sure the owner of the boat contacted their insurer who arranged for SeaTow or another Marine Salvage company to go get the boat and bring it back to port.  Or perhaps they had a SeaTow contract themselves.

 

Why do you assume they had no Passports? If they were sailing to Mexico, South America or the Caribbean they would certainly have had them in their possession and in the "Go Bag" sailors keep ready for just such an emergency.

[bury me at sea]

Hooray for Carnival.  I'm happy the rescue was successful.  Thanks for posting ultra fighter 

[RWolver672]

On 11/7/2021 at 10:32 AM, K&RCurt said:

 

Why do you assume they had no Passports? If they were sailing to Mexico, South America or the Caribbean they would certainly have had them in their possession and in the "Go Bag" sailors keep ready for just such an emergency.

 

I don't want to start an argument but not every crew that gets rescued by a cruise ship is headed for those places you mentioned.  What happens if it's just a family out for a family boating fun day and gets rescued by a cruise ship?  They do not carry those documents with them.

[chengkp75]

On 11/7/2021 at 10:27 AM, K&RCurt said:

The issue could have been with the rudder, thus no steering or it could have been taking on water.

It didn't look like the boat was in imminent danger, and from the screen shot from vesselfinder, above, it was really in the outer Galveston anchorage, so they could have drifted to one of the anchored ships, or launched the liferaft and gone to one of the ships.  I has never ceased to amaze me how many people get on a boat like that and have no clue how to deal with emergencies, or have failed to properly prepare for those emergencies (like not having a raft).  They could have steered with the sails if the rudder was out.  Slow and tedious especially in light winds, but doable for a capable crew.

 

And, under maritime law, if the owner did not contact a towing service to get the boat, the boat belongs to the first person who steps foot on it, after it was abandoned.  The USCG will likely have it towed, by Towboat USA or someone, as it forms a hazard to navigation, and then charge the owner for the tow.

[Guest BasicSailor]

Not reading the entire thread but I am curious as to why the sail boat was so close to the ship after the life boat rescue being accessed from a safe distance ?

Edited November 9, 2021 by BasicSailor

[Guest BasicSailor]

1 hour ago, chengkp75 said:

.  I has never ceased to amaze me how many people get on a boat like that and have no clue how to deal with emergencies, or have failed to properly prepare for those emergencies (like not having a raft).  They could have steered with the sails if the rudder was out.  Slow and tedious especially in light winds, but doable for a capable crew.

 

 

That could be from the price to get on the boat and where its headed.

[chengkp75]

16 minutes ago, BasicSailor said:

That could be from the price to get on the boat and where its headed.

I'm talking about people getting on their own boat and heading off as if it were a drive to grandma's house.

[chengkp75]

53 minutes ago, BasicSailor said:

Not reading the entire thread but I am curious as to why the sail boat was so close to the ship after the life boat rescue being accessed from a safe distance ?

Well, recovering the lifeboat would take some time, so the boat likely drifted down onto the ship, as the ship was limited in its ability to maneuver during recovery.

[Guest BasicSailor]

28 minutes ago, chengkp75 said:

Well, recovering the lifeboat would take some time, so the boat likely drifted down onto the ship, as the ship was limited in its ability to maneuver during recovery.

Thanks, I noticed the mass was close to the whirlpool glass not know the height of the mass . I was just curious if there was a lapse in observation with one of the officers to avoid this . Not sure if it was anyone's job to even  observe .