Coast Guard Plane Spots Crippled Yacht; Crew Safe

AGANA, Guam — The Coast Guard found a yacht that had been crippled in rough seas southwest of Guam and sent a patrol boat today to tow the boat and its crew to safety, officials said.

A C-130 search and rescue plane from Hawaii spotted the Royal Taipan about 120 miles east-northeast of Yap, an island of the Federated State of Micronesia, said Lt. Kent Youel, a Coast Guard spokesman in Honolulu.

Earlier reports had said the 146-foot vessel was lost about 225 miles south-southwest of Guam, but its location today was about 500 miles southwest of Guam.

A 95-foot patrol boat was sent out from Yap to take the boat in tow, Youel said. Everyone aboard was reported safe, he said.

The Royal Taipan, a converted Navy minesweeper, owned by Honolulu-based Windjammer Cruises, first radioed for help Saturday when it ran into the fringes of Tropical Storm Abe.

Communication was lost Sunday night just after the crew reported that it was taking on water in 25-foot seas and about 50 m.p.h. winds, and that water had reached the floorboards, Youel said.

The crew, including two Americans, was sailing the Royal Taipan from the Philippines to Saipan, where the yacht was to have been refurbished for cruises, Youel said.