We’ve seen it happen in movies and television countless times, but writing a plea for rescue in the sand has worked plenty of times in the real world — even once earlier this year. The latest incident happened in Micronesia after the U.S. Navy noticed lights on a deserted island in the area. Linus and Sapina Jack had departed on August 17th, expected to arrive at Tamatam Island the following day. Only they didn’t and they didn’t have the emergency supplies needed for an extended stay. The U.S. Embassy in Kolonia described the planning ahead of the rescue:
The trackline put the MARINER in close proximity to East Fayu Island…while abeam of the island, someone attempted to signal the M/V BRITISH MARINER with a flashlight. Since the island was potentially uninhabited and knowing Linus Jack and Sapina Jack had a flashlight in their boat, we directed our search aircraft to overfly the island this morning. The attached photos are what the aircraft found…a male and female with a boat pulled up onto the beach. We are attempting to identify these individuals while awaiting a rescue boat to head in and pull them off the beach. Regarding that effort…the M/V KYOWA ORCHID left Weno this morning and sailed to East Fayu, however their small boat ran into difficulties due to water depth while trying to access the lagoon. Another vessel, the M/V DYNA CRANE is going to attempt an entry to the lagoon and pull them off at around sunset this evening.
It took a few hours, but the rescue operation proved successful. Linus and Sapina Jack were apparently healthy according to reports and even managed to build themselves a shelter on the small island. It is a bit harrowing, but not bad for a little getaway from the real world. That is as long as nobody was seriously injured in the process or inconvenienced by the rescue. You’d likely end up getting a hefty bill for that and wish you’d stayed on the island.
(Via U.S. Embassy Kolonia)
