Five Americans stepped ashore in good health Monday in the central Philippines following an international search for their sailboat when it failed to arrive on time in its voyage from the Pacific island of Guam, officials said today. The vessel, called the Pineapple, ran into bad weather after departing from Guam on Jan. 6 on a journey to the Philippines and relatives of the crew — four men and a woman — reported them missing Jan. 18.
A Philippine coast guard ship reached the 38-foot (11-meter) catamaran on Sunday after it was spotted by plane the previous day. Rescuers escorted the vessel to the port of Maasin on Leyte Island, where the crew refueled, got their passports stamped and treated themselves to a meal, the coast guard said. With one of its two rudders damaged, the Pineapple will later be escorted to its original destination on Cebu Island.
"They're all in fine health," coast guard chief Adm. Wilfredo Tamayo said of the crew, including a Filipino-American in the U.S. Air Force. The U.S. Embassy in Manila has declined to release their identities and hometowns. The U.S. Coast Guard, which said it had spent 63 hours searching for the sailboat, expressed relief that the boat was found but faulted the crew for failing to take proper precautions. The vessel did not carry long-distance communication or emergency distress equipment and did not file a comprehensive float plan, the agency said.
"I'm elated for the family and friends of the Pineapple, but compelled to point out that this voyage was made without taking basic, commonsense precautions," said Capt. Thomas Sparks, U.S. Coast Guard Guam commander. A Philippine coast guard plane spotted the sailboat Saturday off the southern island of Dinagat, but was not able to confirm its identity until Sunday when the weather cleared, Tamayo said.