Rescue at Sea 2: Foundering

For four days and three nights the two ships steamed east across the Atlantic Ocean. They fell in with a storm blowing off Delaware Bay, which followed us across the whole ocean. For all this time the weather was gray and rainy, winds 25-30 knots and occasionally gusting 30-35. Seas were 8-10 feet, enough to feel and make you seasick.

On the morning of the fifth day, our radio crackled to life. Two Dutch mariners flew from Amsterdam to Boston and there purchased a 31' single masted sailboat. They were attempting to sail the thing across the Atlantic Ocean back to the Netherlands. After five days and four nights of horrendous weather their sails were shredded, their pumps were broken, they were tossed about, and beginning to suffer from exposure and dehydration. They put out a MAYDAY call. It was received by the Canadian Coast Guard station on Halifax and relayed down the East Coast to the United States.

It was determined that my ship was the nearest to it, and U.S. Second Fleet in Norfolk, Virginia, directed us to make best speed to reach the two mariners. We lit off all four engines, the massive General Electric gas turbines roaring to life and spitting out a blue-hot flame that put 120,000 horsepower turning twin 32' diameter screws, one on each shaft. With all engines online pushing a 10,000 ton cruiser to its maximum speed of 30+ knots, fuel economy was reduced to approximately 50 feet per gallon.

After three hours of hard charging, we found the sailboat - if you could still call it that with its sails shredded - taking on water and listing heavily to port. We made circles around the sailboat and pondered our next move.

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