Kai Sato, a 39-year-old California man, was rescued alive after spending 30 days stranded at sea in his sailboat off the coast of Hawaii. Sato had set sail from California's Catalina Islands on June 7, hoping to complete his first solo voyage across the Pacific Ocean, according to Hawaii News Now. However, his journey took a disastrous turn when his mast snapped and the phone he was using for navigation died.
Desperate struggle for survival
“I cried for a whole week, just drifting south, like miserable,” Sato told Hawaii News Now. “I felt like I was going to just try to turn my motor on and just suffocate, to kill myself, I felt hopeless.” Sato initially tried to motor back to shore but ran out of gas. “I was literally like a sitting duck, just getting taken south by the current going way off course,” he added.
After several days, Sato began jury-rigging the sails and used PVC pipes and kayak paddles to repair his boat. After about 20 days adrift, he ran out of drinking water and began using a plastic bag to collect condensation. “I was just licking that to survive,” he said. He subsisted mainly on oatmeal and fish and squid that landed on his boat.
Rescue at sea
It took a month for Sato to reach the shipping lane between California and Hawaii. On Tuesday, his boat was spotted by the crew of the M/V George III, a passing containership. The Seafarers International Union issued a statement detailing the rescue. On July 21, watch standers spotted a small sailboat in distress approximately 900 miles from Hawaii.
“All hands were called to assist in the recovery of solo sailor Kaichi Sato aboard his de-masted 32ft sailboat,” the union said. The crew prepared engines for immediate maneuvering and rigged the ship's pilot ladder, life rings, messenger lines, and life-throwing appliances. “They shot the line-throwing device across to it,” the statement continued, and “Sato pulled the attached messenger line and made fast to his boat’s stern.” The seafarers then pulled the sailboat's stern to the ladder, allowing Sato to step off and climb aboard the George III. The rescue took about an hour and a half.
Aftermath and future plans
Sato expressed his thanks and gratitude to the entire crew for saving his life. According to Hawaii News Now, Sato is now staying with a relative and is already planning another sail, this time to the Philippines in a larger boat.
