The following story first appeared in the Marshall Islands Journal’s July 15, 2016, issue.
“At around 6:30 pm on 7/7/16 our forward stay broke taking our mast with it. I worked till 9 to release it to Davey Jones’ locker. Our jib was still in the water so I couldn’t run the engine. I got the jib out this morning and now we are motoring to Wake Island, hopefully they will let us in.”
This was the email message received by the international cruising community from Don Moore and his mother Judy on the sailing vessel Windryder, which was voyaging from RMI to Hawaii, having left Majuro on June 27.
Members of the Mieco Beach Yacht Club already had a twice daily radio schedule arranged with Windryder, and on the morning of July 8 managed to speak to Don, despite the fact that his antenna was now on the deck.
Meanwhile, club officials contacted Lieutenant Commander George McKenzie of the Royal Australian Navy, who in turn contacted the Coast Guard in Hawaii. A flurry of emails ensued, with the club providing the Coast Guard with requested details of the boat and the sailors and their situation.
It was soon determined that while the dismasting had made life uncomfortable for the yacht’s crew, the fact they had plenty of food, water, and fuel on board meant their lives were not at risk. Therefore, the routine calling in of merchant vessels to assist was put on hold.
The club also contacted the US Embassy’s Charge d’Affaires Sarah Nelson, requesting permission for the yacht to enter Wake Island, which is a US Air Force facility. This was given the green light and officers on Wake were subsequently brought into the chain of emails and also joined in on the radio skids each day.
Fortunately, the weather conditions were favorable for Windryder, with their course meaning they were running with the wind, which was blowing around a relatively gentle 10 to 15 knots.
As they slowly moved closer to Wake, Windryder’s emails went from red alert to humorous: “Mom’s only concern is that we don’t flip over from a big wave. Son’s concern is that they have beer on Wake Island, and lots of it I may add. With distance decreasing between them and Wake, moms nerves are decreasing as well. Son is just salivating for a beer, or 2 or 3 or…”
And then, on Wednesday morning, the Majuro cruisers received the following email from Don: “7.00 am 2 miles from entering Wake.” This was followed by a radio communication from Wake at 9am stating: “We have Don and Judy on island.”
It was time for cheers all round and emails of thanks from the yacht club to all the agencies that assisted: “It was a great coordination effort and I know it made Donny and Judy feel a great relief that others were with them on their rough journey.”
My husband, Cary, and I salvaged Windryder from Enen Kio (Wake Island). It was quite the adventure: Enen Kio Atoll • Marshall Islands Guide
