Two completely unrelated search-and-rescue missions intersected in the South Pacific Ocean in June, resulting in the nearly miraculous sighting and rescue of a solo rowing adventurer. The original target, SY Yasukole, was not found during that mission but has since arrived in American Samoa safe and sound.

Published 1 year ago

Update:  July 8 2023

Good news from Boat Watch Facebook Group July 04, 2023:

Yasukole is safe in American Samoa. Andy Turpin organizer of the Pacific Puddle Jump advised Boatwatch.org that “We are very happy to report that the father-son crew of the 45-foot Island Trader ketch Yasukole are alive and well in American Samoa, having made landfall last Friday (June 30), after 78 days at sea.

A Serendipitous Blue-Water Rescue

Source:  Latitude 38 Magazine

Aaron Carotta, a solo rower who had lost all communication and was adrift in his liferaft more than 500 miles east of the Marquesas in the Pacific, was spotted by the US Coast Guard when on another aerial search and rescue mission for yacht Yasukole and sailors David Wysopal and son Zachary, who had been reported overdue by concerned family and friends.

Carotta, who was attempting to complete “the world’s first rowboat circumnavigation”, was forced to abandon his offshore rowing boat, Smiles and had lost the ability to communicate with his support team ashore, when he was unexpectedly located by the US Coast Guard.  He had put out a Mayday signal on May 31 and set off his Personal Locater Beacon for a few seconds several days apart, but searchers were unable to precisely define a search area, so the hunt for Carotta has been suspended on June 12.

The search for SV Yasukole

Nearly three months ago David and his 12-year-old son Zachary, departed La Paz, Mexico, aboard their 45-ft Island Trader ketch Yasukole, bound for the Marquesas, and later, American Samoa.

They had registered with the Pacific Puddle Jump rally, but didn’t announce their departure. Nor did they opt to participate in the PredictWind tracking program. However, they did have the ability to send out periodic position coordinates to friends and family via a Spot device. These updates came semi-regularly until May 13, a month into the trip. At that point the big ketch was located near 03*25N 130*46W, roughly 800nm NE of Nuku Hiva.

Although David and Zachary, the original targets of the US Coast Guard’s exhaustive three-day aerial search, were not found, the community of people now looking for them has expanded considerably.

Read the full story as reported in Latitude 38’s online edition:

A Serendipitous Bluewater Rescue — Pacific Puddle Jump Ocean Rescue Updates

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Related News:

• SY Yasukole Father and Son safe in American Samoa – Boatwatch.org
• SY Yasukole Overdue South Pacific – Boatwatch.org

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Related Links:

• Searching for Dave and Zach in the South Pacific (Facebook)
• Adventure Aaron Carotta (Facebook)

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