Silversea cruise ship helps rescue man from disabled sailing vessel

A Silversea Cruises ship helped rescue a man from a disabled sailing vessel nearly 500 miles off the coast of Oregon.

The incident took place on May 26 after the 74-year-old Canadian citizen’s 29-foot sailing vessel “was de-masted and the engine was rendered inoperable while navigating in gale-force winds and 30-foot seas from Hawaii to British Columbia,” according to a May 29 news release from the U.S. Coast Guard. He also had a shoulder injury.

The man on the boat, who was not identified, was traveling by himself from Hilo to Vancouver, the Coast Guard said, a journey he had made four times before.

Silver Whisper responded to authorities’ request for assistance, diverting 120 miles from its intended course. The ship was also sailing from Hawaii to Vancouver at the time, according to CruiseMapper.

“The crew of the Silver Whisper were able to pull the injured mariner off his disabled vessel and onto the cruise ship,” the news release said. “Silver Whisper’s onboard medical team provided care to the rescued mariner until their arrival in Vancouver.”

Silversea referred a request for comment to the Coast Guard. The Coast Guard coordinated the rescue and was assisted by air via long-range aircraft.

“This mariner’s experience and preparedness allowed the Coast Guard and other agencies to communicate with him and effect a rescue,” Scott Giard, Coast Guard Northwest District Search and Rescue Program Manager, said in the release. “His foresight to bring a satellite communicator averted a tragedy. We would also like to thank Silver Whisper for their assistance with this rescue.”

The news comes after a Carnival Cruise Line ship rescued nine people from a vessel in distress during a Caribbean cruise earlier in May.

This story was updated to refresh headlines.

Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@usatoday.com.

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