Drama on the high seas: Cruise ship bound for Vancouver rescues sailor

The sailboat April Alice, a Canadian-registered vessel, sent a distress call Tuesday after becoming disabled. The cruise ship Silver Whisper was diverted from its Vancouver-Hawaii voyage to rescue the lone injured occupant. Photo: Jeff Hall Photo by Jeff Hall/Submitted /PNG

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Passengers on the cruise ship Silver Whisper had a front-row seat for some high seas drama when their vessel was diverted to rescue a sailboat adrift in the Pacific Ocean about 1,600 kilometres southwest of Vancouver.

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The Silversea Cruises ship — which was to arrive in Vancouver on Thursday morning from Papeete, the capital of French Polynesia, by way of Honolulu — received a distress call from the Canadian-flagged April Alice on Tuesday morning, reaching it by the afternoon. The boat was too far from either Hawaii or the mainland to attempt a helicopter rescue.

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“The rescue really made for an exciting day,” said Jeff Hall, a Silver Whisper passenger from Seattle. “My wife and I went up to the observation deck around 2:45 p.m. and there were already about 40 people there watching for the sailboat. As we approached the boat, the captain said he would be pulling in the stabilizers and that everyone should return to their cabin and sit on the floor because there could be a lot of motion.”

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But the unfolding adventure was too riveting for most, said Hall. “No one left the observation lounge.”

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Hall said the supposed rough ride as the captain manoeuvred up to the sailboat for the rescue never materialized.

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“Funny thing was that the hour we spent rescuing the guy was about the smoothest period we’ve had on this ship since we left Kona (Hawaii) five days ago,” Hall said in emails to Postmedia describing the rescue.

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Those who were attending a 3 p.m. lecture below decks were told to return to their cabins as the crew prioritized their safety, and apparently most of those passengers followed orders.

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“Too bad. They missed one of the best parts of the cruise,” said Hall. “We all — except for those who returned to their cabins — had a bird’s-eye view of the rescue.”

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The sailboat April Alice, a Canadian-registered vessel, sent a distress call Tuesday after becoming disabled. The cruise ship Silver Whisper was diverted from its Vancouver-Hawaii voyage to rescue the lone injured occupant. Photo: Jeff Hall Photo by Jeff Hall/Submitted /PNG

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Hall praised the crew for their concern for passenger safety, “but that didn’t stop half of us from going out on the various decks to get a better look.”

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Hall said the captain “did a super job moving the ship alongside the sailboat. He actually had to do it twice because the first line they attached to the sailboat broke and it drifted away from us for about 15 minutes.”

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Hall said he hasn’t been told anything about the sailor, who is getting medical treatment aboard the Silver Whisper. But he said he saw on a marine tracker that the April Alice was in Baja, Mexico, in February and then in Hawaii in early May.

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“Once the sailor was aboard the Silver Whisper with only a few of his possessions, his boat was set loose and we were headed to Vancouver. I think everyone, including the captain, was expecting the rescue to last much longer.”

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The sailboat, which was battered and missing its mast, had one occupant, who had suffered an injury to his left shoulder. He was taken on board in under an hour and treated by the cruise ship medical staff.

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The boat was left adrift after the cruise ship got underway again for Vancouver, where it was due to dock around 7:30 a.m. Thursday. The Silver Whisper was ahead of schedule before the diversion, so it should arrive on time, said Hall.