The crew of the Stena Crystal Sky rescued two American from their stranded yacht off the west coast of Mexico. On the 17th day of their voyage, the yacht’s occupants Don Spitler and Elizabeth Anderson found themselves in unexpected heavy seas and an estimated 3m swell.
After receiving a distress call via the US Coast Guard on 18th January, Stena Crystal Sky started a 185-mile rescue mission through stormy conditions to the stranded yacht ‘Jaunt’.
The yacht had suffered damages to its rudder and auto-pilot mechanism, as a result of challenging conditions and violent motion of the boat. The coast guard was alerted by the pair when the boat’s bilge pump capability failed and they were unable to limit water ingress.
When Stena Crystal Sky arrived at the scene, its crewmembers deployed a rescue boat and after battling difficult conditions, the crew brought Don Spitler and Elizabeth Anderson back to the LNG carrier.
Mr. Spitler stated: “To sum up the event, we knew that we were in a difficult rescue situation and had no expectation, only hope. We don’t know how such a rescue could be accomplished if conditions were even worse. We felt for our Rescuers as they put themselves out for us.”
