Posted on 04/09/2014 3:32:32 PM PDT by SilvieWaldorfMD
(Reuters) - A family of four rescued from their sailboat after their infant daughter became seriously ill at sea returned safely to San Diego on Wednesday aboard a U.S. warship that picked them up in the Pacific over the weekend, a Navy spokeswoman said.
The parents, Eric and Charlotte Kaufman, and their two daughters, 3-year-old Cora and 1-year-old Lyra, left the Navy frigate Vandegrift after the ship arrived in port around 10 a.m. local time and proceeded to their family doctor, according to Lieutenant Lenaya Rotklein of the Third Fleet.
Rotklein declined to give any further information about the arrival of the Kaufmans at Naval Air Station North Island on San Diego Bay except to say all four family members were "stable when they departed" and were met at the port by relatives.
The family was two weeks into a planned around-the-world cruise on their 36-foot (11-metre) sloop when Lyra developed a fever and rash, prompting her parents to send a distress call to the Coast Guard by satellite phone last Thursday.
In addition to the child falling ill, the family reported that their boat was taking on water whenever they tried to start the vessel's engine, the Coast Guard said.
A four-man team from the California Air National Guard's 129th Rescue Wing was dispatched by military plane to the scene, about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) out in the Pacific off Mexico, to render medical assistance.
(Excerpt) Read more at in.reuters.com ...
LOL My first thought was “I hope the navy sank their boat”.
You'd think they would know more about how to fix all of the systems on their craft.
If they didn’t have the mechanical acuity to know how to fix a leak when they ran the engine, they had no business out there.
Now, having said that, how does anyone know how accurate the reporting is on this.
Lionheart, 36’ sloop and Ann Marion, 41’ ketch. Both out of ‘Dago.(Just in case anyone wonders about my bonafides on the matter.)
And best of all, they won’t even have to pay for being rescued at the cost of millions of taxpayed dollars. Bet they’re Obama voters.
Sounds like these people should have just stayed within sight of shore.
The assembled members of my family, including Gunner Anoreth, USCG, say these people are idiots.
Or on anything else...maybe I'm wrong, maybe the reporter is a sailor but I wouldn't be laying any serious money down...
They should have stayed at the pool. I’m sure they have one.
I’m just a river and lake person, but 36 ft. sounds awfully tiny for an around the world trip-anyone who would attempt it once might indeed try it again if the boat was repairable.
If they’re so gung ho, they might be safer next time if they use their insurance money to put a down payment on a 50 foot sailboat-a yacht sized one, at least...
More than the boat issue these people never should have attempted this with children that young. I’ve (almost) raised four and I couldn’t begin to count the number of doctor’s office and emergency room visits when they were young. Run the risk of a serious accident or illness in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? Epic parental malpractice.
36’ is snug for two adults, but manageable if your truly compatible. Throw in 2 kids? The whole idea of their bringing kids was insane and infuriating. They should donate the $ they’d have spent on this trip to a Navy benefit.
I have a 4-year-old and a 2-year-old. I asked the Assembled Family Members - most of whom have (lake) sailing experience - if they’d like to be on a 36-foot boat in the Pacific with Frank and Kathleen, and a raucous chorus of negation arose.
They don’t even want to be in the van on a 15-minute drive to church (not to mention an hour church service) with Frank and Kathleen!
It probably went better in the 4 years before the first child was born.
I don’t understand why the US Navy, California National Guard, US Coast Guard got involved. They were off the coast of Mexico, about 1000 miles away from San Diego. Just how far does American jurisdiction go?
Well, the trapped-with-kids-on-a-boat thing did enter my mind, but I was thinking more in terms of vessel size as it pertains to safety. Even the Vikings crewed a 40-50 ft. vessel for an ocean voyage, and they knew what they were doing, and where they were going...
Well, you could bring a TV and a CD of every Disney and Pixar cartoon ever made. But after a week of that the parents would want to turn around and go home.
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