Cargo ship crew praised for saving stricken sailors

One of three people plucked from the ocean by a Hawaii-bound container ship Wednesday morning told a family member their rescue was a "miracle."

Bradley James of Calgary, Alberta, said the crew aboard the cargo ship Horizon Reliance did a tremendous job of saving them in the darkness after their sailboat sank in heavy seas 280 miles northeast of Hilo, his brother Ryan James told the Star-Advertiser by telephone from Canada.

"He said it was nothing less than a miracle," Ryan James said.

The brothers spoke by satellite telephone shortly after the rescue early Wednesday morning.

All three occupants of the sailboat were in good condition and were scheduled to arrive on the container ship in Honolulu early today.

Bradley James, 32, his 9-year-old son, West, and his 29-year-old brother, Mitchell, of Edmonton were sailing the 38-foot sailboat Liahona from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to Hilo when they encountered winds that ripped their sails and snapped their mast, Horizon and Coast Guard officials said.

Their engine also overheated, and the crew tried to rig a makeshift sail but lost it in the extreme conditions, the Coast Guard said.

Officials said the Liahona contacted them at 5:26 p.m. Tuesday after becoming disabled in 6- to 13-foot seas and 34 mph winds.

The Coast Guard Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Honolulu requested help from the 800-foot-long Horizon Reliance, which was about 149 miles northeast of the Liahona.

As the Horizon Reliance approached the vessel at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, a swell caused the sailboat to capsize and sink, throwing the three crew members into the sea.

In high winds and heavy rain, the crew lowered a ladder and needed about an hour to retrieve Mitchell James and close to another hour to rescue Bradley James and his son, Horizon and Coast Guard officials said.

Officials said the three had life jackets and strobe lights, enabling rescuers to keep them in sight, but winds and rough seas caused them to drift away from the ship.

Ryan James said his brother said the ship’s crew was unable to retrieve all three on the first pass and had to maneuver in high winds.

But the crew kept their eyes on the sailors until everyone was pulled from the water.

"Bradley couldn’t say enough about the ship captain and what the crew did," Ryan James said.

Mitchell James was a part-owner of the sailboat for three years and had sailed along the West Coast to Mexico.