Found and rescued the Lost at Sea!

This was in the Cayman Islands News a few days ago:

Sea search for missing vessel

Posted on Fri, 07/22/2011 - 17:18 in Local News

A 37-foot vessel, the Miss Janice, with six crew on board has gone missing on its way to Swan Island and the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service says it has launched a combined air and sea, search and rescue operation to find it, with the assistance of a visiting Navy ship's helicopter.

And here's a headline on 7/26/2011:



Now this is the headline in Houston Chronicle this morning: Houston-bound tanker saves 6 adrift for days! And the story written by Allan Turner, 7/28/2011:

Travis Hinds knows the ways of the sea. But even the lifelong Cayman Islands fisher­man was caught by surprise when the Caribbean turned mean, sinking his boat and leaving him and a crew of five adrift for nine days with little food and often no water.

For days, crammed in a raft and a tiny lifeboat and beseeching God with nonstop fervor, the crew of the fishing boat Miss Janice watched in despair as up to a dozen ships sailed past without stopping.

Then, in a driving rain shortly before noon on Tuesday, a British-flagged tanker bound for Houston slowed and turned toward the castaways.

"We thanked God. We were trusting in him," Hinds said Wednesday from the tanker, CPO Sweden, as it approached the Texas coast.Among Hinds' crew were his son, Elvis, and brother-in-law, Ernest Rankin. All were in good health.

Thanks be to God!

Now here's what had happened:

Hinds, speaking via satellite phone, said the ordeal began on July 17 as the Miss Janice, heavily laden with freight, left Grand Cayman en route to Honduras.

The 37-foot boat was scheduled to return to the Caymans with seafood. At departure, the water and wind were calm, the sun shining, he said. Five hours later, though, heavy waves pounded the boat.

"I think it may have been overloaded," Hinds, 50, said. "We were low in the water."

Waves slammed the deck as crew members desperately manned the pumps. Then, two giant waves swamped the vessel. Miss Janice's crew jumped overboard, then retrieved the raft and lifeboat from their capsized boat.

"Flash! The boat filled. It all happened so fast …" Hinds said. "We watched it sinking, going down, going down.

"Emergency rations — a little water and a parcel of nearly inedible food — soon were depleted.

After two days without water and hours of impassioned prayer, it rained. Hinds and the crew captured rainwater in a two-liter container, then, in ensuing days, rationed it a tiny cup at a time.

Spirits drooped as ships passed, oblivious to their presence despite efforts to signal them with a mirror.At 6 a.m. Tuesday, members of the Miss Janice crew shared a cup of water, embarking on a fast dedicated to God. A little more than five hours later, the Sweden hove into view.

So it was a case of "two giant waves swamped the vessel" but no one has blamed it on freaque waves yet. But regardless the semantics, the two giant waves were certainly not expected and unwelcome -- typical of what most likely what had happened. Another case of vulnerable fishing boat in trouble. I must say that I really admire the faith of the fishermen, never despair or dispirit, placed their total trust in God. And God duly answered them! Thanks be to God!