Woman and child rescued from sailboat during Hurricane Gilma near Honolulu

During Hurricane Gilma, a woman and her 7-year-old daughter were stranded on a French-flagged sailboat, approximately 925 miles east of Honolulu. They sent a distress alert to the Coast Guard, which initiated a complex rescue operation involving both the Coast Guard and the US Navy. The woman, along with her daughter, a cat, and a tortoise, were in dire need of assistance as the storm created hazardous conditions with waves reaching 6 feet and winds at 20 mph. The rescue mission faced significant challenges due to the severe weather conditions caused by Hurricane Gilma, which had maximum sustained winds of 110 mph. Initial attempts to communicate with the stranded individuals were unsuccessful, and a tanker crew was unable to reach them due to the worsening weather. The situation was critical, as rescuers had only a limited window to safely execute the operation. Eventually, a small boat crew from the Navy was able to make contact with the sailboat, leading to the successful rescue of the mother and daughter. They were brought to safety at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam on Wednesday evening, where they received necessary care. Unfortunately, the body of the deceased man, identified as the vessel's master, could not be recovered due to the ongoing adverse weather conditions. The cause of the man's death and the circumstances that led them to be in the path of the hurricane are still under investigation. The Coast Guard expressed gratitude for the teamwork and coordination that made the rescue possible, highlighting the dangers posed by the storm as it continued to move westward toward the last known position of the sailboat.