U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Navy Coordinate To Rescue Sailor 800 Miles Off The Coast of California

U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy units rescued a lone sailor Saturday, June 11, 2005, 800 miles off the California coast. Mr. William Peterson, 56, aboard his 40-foot sailboat Camerra, was enroute to San Francisco from Panama when his boat was demasted. Peterson activated his emergency satellite beacon that was received by the Coast Guard. Coast Guard Search-and-Rescue operators in Alameda, Calif., directed the AMVER vessel Maresk Garonne to divert towards the reported location of the beacon. The maresk Garonne searched the reported area with no sighting of any vessels in distress. Coast Guard C-130A Coast Guard C-130 airplane from Sacramento, Calif., was launched and the USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93), a U.S. Navy destroyer based in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was diverted from operations nearby to assist in the search. The C-130 crew located the sailboat and remained overhead until the Chung-Hoon arrived on scene and rescued the lone sailor. The Chung-Hoon crew used a small rigid-hull inflatable boat to rescue Peterson from the disabled sailboat. The Navy medical staff aboard USS Chung-Hoon reported Mr. Peterson to be in good condition. Mr. Peterson remained aboard the USS Chung-Hoon while the vessel transited towards San Diego USS Chung-Hoon (DDG 93)AMVER Vessel Maresk Garonne