Incidents in the North Pacific.
Documented sailing emergencies in the North Pacific β 17 records, each with sources, lessons, and links to the SeaWise procedures involved. Search by the water you're about to sail.
β Search & filter the full LogbookGet a weekly update on new incidents.
One free email a week from the Fleet's Logbook: the new incidents and what they teach. Unsubscribe anytime.
On 24 September 2026 a lone sailor's 25-ft sailboat ran aground on a beach on Santa Rosa Island in California's Channel Islands. He called the Coast Guard on VHF channel 16, and an MH-60 Jayhawk from Air Station Ventura lifted him off unhurt. A tow company later recovered the boat to Ventura Harbor.
About 7 a.m. on 5 July 2026 a 30-foot sailboat was lost roughly five miles east of Hornby Island, in British Columbia's Strait of Georgia. The two men aboard said a rogue wave smashed her windows and flooded her, and she sank, leaving them in whitecapped seas. A Comox charter skipper heard their Mayday on VHF, raced over in his fishing boat, and with a helicopter overhead helped recover both. The Coast Guard took them to hospital; both survived.
On 16 January 2026 a 42-foot catamaran moored about 300 yards off MΔla Wharf in Lahaina, Maui, took on water and sank, staying partly afloat where she went down. The one man aboard, 67, was helped off by a nearby boat and needed no medical treatment. No one else was aboard.
On 26 May 2026, 489 miles off Oregon, the 29-foot Alice was dismasted and left with a dead engine in a gale while her 74-year-old skipper sailed alone from Hawaii to British Columbia. He hurt his shoulder but stayed in contact by handheld satellite messenger. The Coast Guard flew overwatch and the cruise ship Silver Whisper diverted 120 miles to lift him off.
Solo sailor Kai Sato lost his mast and then his fuel two weeks into a first Pacific crossing from Long Beach, drifting for 44 days with no way to sail, motor, or call for help. He improvised repairs and a water still to survive, and was rescued by the containership M/V George III about 750 miles off Hawaii on 21 July 2026.
On 18 June 2026 the 40-foot sailing vessel Mizuya lost her rudder in the open North Pacific, roughly 950 miles southwest of Adak, Alaska, and could no longer steer. With help beyond any single nation's reach, the US, Canadian and Japanese coast guards coordinated a response: the Canadian ship Sir Wilfrid Laurier diverted more than 575 miles and, around 26-27 June, took all three crew off in good condition for passage to Japan.
About 1:30 p.m. on Sunday 12 July 2026, a sailboat capsized in San Francisco Bay roughly half a mile east of San Francisco International Airport, near Coyote Point. Three people, all Foster City residents, were left clinging to the hull. San Mateo County Sheriff's Marine Unit deputies training nearby heard the call and pulled all three from the water. They were shaken and cold but unhurt.
On Sunday 12 July 2026, the 35-foot recreational catamaran Alakai lost her steering and began flooding while crossing from Oβahu to Kauaβi. Her lone skipper reached the Coast Guard by text message, warning that she might sink. A Coast Guard helicopter hoisted him about 23 miles offshore and flew him to LΔ«huβe, where he was checked and released unhurt. The catamaran sank shortly after the rescue.
On 26 May 2026, a US-flagged yacht sailing single-handed down the Baja California coast drifted ashore at Playas de Tijuana, in Mexico, after its skipper fell asleep at the helm and the current carried the boat onto the beach. He woke as it grounded and was unhurt; the yacht was left stranded on the sand while he sought to refloat or sell it.
Early on 11 October 2026 a sailboat went aground in the surf off Coronado, California, and flooded with a man trapped in the cabin. A Coast Guard helicopter rescue swimmer gave him his snorkel so he could breathe, tore open part of the cabin roof and got him out. He was handed to paramedics in San Diego.
Just before midnight on 29 July 2026, a humpback whale struck the Lewis family's anchored 25-foot sailboat near Gloomy Knob in Glacier Bay National Park, sinking it within three minutes. All three aboard swam to shore, built a fire, and were rescued by park rangers the next morning.
On 3 August 2026, adverse weather left a sailboat with nine people aboard β seven adults and two children β in difficulty off Topolobampo, Sinaloa. Mexico's Navy rescued everyone, found no injuries, and towed the boat to a nearby dock.
A 74-year-old Canadian sailing solo from Hilo, Hawaii to Vancouver lost his mast and engine and injured his shoulder in a gale with roughly 30-foot seas about 489 nautical miles off Oregon. Too far out for a Coast Guard helicopter, his distress call β relayed through his satellite communicator β brought the cruise ship Silver Whisper, which diverted, came alongside in heavy swell, and took him off. His sailboat was left adrift.
In June 2026 the dive liveaboard Philippine Siren 2 grounded on the coral at Bird Islet, in the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, after a sudden squall caught her moored to a buoy off the reef. All 28 aboard β 14 divers and 14 crew β were safe and transferred to a nearby yacht. She was refloated six days later and towed to Puerto Princesa, with no oil spill reported.
On 26 May 2026, the sailing yacht Maserra, with three Canadians aboard, suffered mechanical failures and lost the ability to navigate about 32 nautical miles off San JosΓ© del Cabo, in Baja California Sur, Mexico. The Mexican Navy located the boat, found the three crew in good health, and towed the disabled yacht to a safe port.
On the evening of 1 February 2026, a sailing yacht struck submerged rocks at an extreme low tide near the Rockpile surf break off Laguna Beach, California. Laguna Beach Marine Safety's vessel Wave Watch took all four people aboard off safely, with no injuries. The damaged yacht submerged overnight and was salvaged the next day and towed to Newport Harbor.
On the night of 12 April 2026, a sailboat overturned at the entrance to Oceanside Harbor, California, spilling its two occupants into strong currents and breaking surf. Oceanside lifeguards aboard a Marine Safety vessel pulled both from the water. One person was taken to hospital in stable condition and the other was treated at the scene; neither was seriously hurt.