Elderly sailor who vanished with his dog during trans-Pacific journey rescued off California coast

An 86-year-old sailor and his four-legged first mate were miraculously rescued nearly 500 miles off the San Diego coast after vanishing during a months-long voyage from Oregon to the South Pacific.The elderly mariner and his dog had set sail aboard the Willow Wind from Astoria, Ore., in August, bound for Pago Pago, American Samoa, a remote destination roughly 5,000 miles southwest of California.But the pair hadn’t been heard from since Aug.20, triggering a search after they failed to arrive as expected.On Saturday, Oct.

24, Coast Guard Pacific Area watchstanders received a report about the overdue sailor and his canine companion, according to the U.S.Coast Guard Southwest District.Days later, the search intensified when a Coast Guard station in Alameda received an emergency radio beacon alert from the Willow Wind on Tuesday, Oct.

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Never miss a story Crews from Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento, including a C-27 Spartan aircraft and an HC-130 Hercules aircrew, were dispatched to help locate the missing mariner as officials also called on nearby vessels for assistance.The sailboat was eventually spotted, and the motor vessel Grand Orion arrived at the scene early the following morning.But treacherous seas forced rescuers to suspend operations for hours before they could safely reach the stranded sailor and his dog.Later that day, the pair were successfully pulled from the sailboat, which had been left adrift with damaged sails, officials said.The rescue wasn’t over just yet.On Thursday, a Coast Guard Air Station San Diego MH-60 Jayhawk crew hoisted the sailor and his dog aboard an aircraft from the Grand Orion, roughly 170 miles west of Ventura.“When emergency medical personnel were able to evaluate the mariner, he was weak and had diffic...