Containership Crew Rescues Kai Sato After 30 Days Adrift 900 Miles Off Hawaii
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jul 27
Containership Crew Rescues Kai Sato After 30 Days Adrift 900 Miles Off Hawaii
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jul 27
Summary
Kai Sato, 39, was pulled from his de-masted 32-foot sailboat after a passing containership spotted him in the shipping lane between California and Hawaii.
A snapped mast and dead navigation phone left the first-time solo Pacific sailor drifting for 30 days after he departed California's Catalina Islands on June 7 and later ran out of fuel.
After about 20 days, Sato said he exhausted his drinking water and survived on condensation collected in a plastic bag, plus oatmeal and fish and squid that landed on the boat.
The Seafarers International Union said watch standers on the M/V George III found Sato on July 21 about 900 miles from Hawaii, and the hour-and-a-half rescue used a pilot ladder and line-throwing device.
Sato is now staying with a relative and, despite describing periods of hopelessness at sea, is already planning another voyage to the Philippines in a larger boat.