Missing boat with 5 Americans lands safe

Monday, January 24, 2011

CEBU CITY (Updated 12 p.m.) -- Five Americans stepped ashore in good health Monday in the central Philippines following an international search for their sailboat when it failed to arrive on time in its voyage from Guam, officials said.

The vessel, S/V Pineapple, a 38-foot twin-hulled white catamaran, ran into bad weather after departing from Guam on January 6 and relatives of the crew -- four men and a woman -- reported them missing January 18.

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The Americans have been identified as Chris Bell, 62, reportedly the owner of the yacht; Joe Gamec, 39, a member of the US Air Force; Corey Goldhorn, 39; Steven Blanton, 36; and Brandi Pratt, 29.

Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) authorities said that based on their initial communications with the Americans, the delay in their arrival to the country was caused by engine trouble at approximately 100 nautical miles in the seawaters off Guam en route to the Philippines.

Rescuers escorted the vessel to the port of Maasin in Leyte province, where the crew refueled, got their passports stamped and treated themselves to a meal, the coast guard said.

"They're all in fine health," PCG Commandant Admiral Wilfredo Tamayo said of the crew, including a Filipino-American in the US Air Force.

The US Embassy in Manila has declined to release their identities and hometowns.

FIVE American crewmen of the 11-meter catamaran sailboat "The Pineapple" are interviewed by crewmen of the Philippine Coast Guard search and rescue ship BRP San Juan after being spotted off Dinagat Island. (AP)

The US Coast Guard, which said it had spent 63 hours searching for the sailboat, expressed relief that the boat was found but faulted the crew for failing to take proper precautions.

The vessel did not carry long-distance communication or emergency distress equipment and did not file a comprehensive float plan, the agency said.

"I'm elated for the family and friends of the Pineapple, but compelled to point out that this voyage was made without taking basic, commonsense precautions," said Captain Thomas Sparks, US Coast Guard Guam commander.

Captain Anelito Gabisan, spokesman of the PCG Central-Eastern Command, said a Coast Guard airplane, which was dispatched to locate the missing yacht, spotted the vessel on Dinagat Island at 10 a.m. Sunday.

However, they were not able to confirm its identity until Sunday when the weather cleared, Tamayo said.

Gabisan said Ernesto Cabata, the commander of the Coast Guard vessel that was part of the rescue operation, got in touch with the Americans at 1:30 p.m. Sunday in Hinobsanan Island.

A woman aboard the boat was able to contact her husband by cell phone at 1:30 p.m. Sunday - apparently once she came within range of cell phone service - and he called rescuers in Guam to give them the boat's coordinates, the US Coast Guard said in a statement.

"THE Pineapple" prepare to sail to a nearest port for refueling after being spotted off Dinagat Island. (AP)

"The husband confirmed the vessel ran into bad weather and suffered a rudder and radio casualty. This delayed the Pineapple's voyage but it was never in danger of sinking," the statement said.

Guam, a US territory, is about 1,400 miles (2,290 kilometers) east of Cebu, where heavy rains and rough seas have been reported in recent weeks.

The US Coast Guard had deployed a HC-130 Hercules aircraft, two Navy P-3 Orion planes, two Air Force C-12s and a patrol ship to search an area of 122,600 square nautical miles (317,530 square kilometers) for more than 63 hours, the agency said.

US authorities were informed of the discovery by Philippine authorities and have been in touch with Philippine officials to provide help to the Americans, US Embassy spokeswoman Rebecca Thompson said.

A video taken from a search plane showed four of the Americans on top of the white-hulled catamaran, one apparently waving, as a rubber boat with coast guard personnel approached.

Many Philippine provinces, particularly in the east, have experienced rough seas amid unusually heavy rains since late December. At least 71 people have died and 23 others remain missing from the stormy weather.

The PCG rescued 260 of 277 people aboard nearly a dozen boats that sank, overturned or ran into trouble last week due to the inclement weather. Fifteen remain missing while two drowned, the officials said. (AP/EOB of Sun.Star Cebu/Sunnex)