Sunrise evacuation, central Atlantic Ocean

With terrible timing, a guest had a medical emergency in the middle of our seven day crossing from Europe to the Caribbean. Three days' sail from Europe and four more from the Caribbean, we were in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean with limited options.

Initially, the captain considered turning back to the Azores, the closest islands on the European side, where the guest could be disembarked to a hospital. Even so, it would take two days' sailing to get there.

Eventually, through contact with the U.S. Coastguard, our ship managed to rendezvous with a U.S. Navy ship that was in nearby waters. There was a dramatic sunrise evacuation to the U.S.S. WASP, a multipurpose amphibious assault ship with excellent medical facilities. From there, the ship transported the guest safely to land.


They transported the guest on this Zodiac.


I found the WASP website online, where they had a brief description of the rescue and this photo, taken as they transported the guest onboard the WASP.

Here is the website:
http://www.wasp.navy.mil