6 from Annapolis sailboat rescued near Bermuda

Amid howling winds and 15-foot seas, six people in an Annapolis sailboat, including a 4-year-old girl, were rescued yesterday off the west coast of Bermuda.

Their 47-foot sailboat Panache had lost engine power and steering capability as it sailed through the 600-mile channel between North Carolina and Bermuda, according to Coast Guard officials.

"In the minds of the people who were pulled off (the sailboat), it was a deteriorating situation and would have gotten worse if we hadn't shown up," said Lt. j.g. Jason Gale, a Coast Guard spokesman in Elizabeth City, N.C., who dispatched the two aircraft to rescue the family.

The people aboard were Rachael Slattery, Samuel Stanton, Jeffrey White and Mark and Shannon Olden and their 4-year-old daughter, Mackenzie Olden, said Petty Officer Andy Kendrick, a spokesman for the Coast Guard in Portsmouth, Va.

All six are still recovering in Bermuda, officials said. They couldn't be reached this morning for comment.

The group was sailing from Annapolis to St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The sailboat's rudder broke and it lost propulsion while a low-pressure system moved across its path, Lt. Gale said. The winds reached higher then 50 knots, or about 57 mph - strong enough that the people on board could only use a storm jib, a small sail, to stabilize their boat.

The vessel never rolled, but the situation became dangerous enough at about 11:30 a.m. to compel the passengers to call the Coast Guard via satellite phone.

The Coast Guard dispatched a small, four-engine airplane, and a Jayhawk helicopter from Elizabeth City out toward Bermuda. Rescuers found the sailboat about 430 miles from the U.S. coastline, and about 175 miles west of Bermuda. Because the boat's mast was swinging back and forth as the boat rocked in the wind, the helicopter couldn't lift the passengers directly off the boat.

A rescue swimmer was lowered from the helicopter, and one by one, he helped the six people into the water and away from the sailboat, where they were put in a basket and hoisted up.

The 4-year-old girl was taken in the basket with her mother, Lt. Gale said.

The Coast Guard flew them directly to Bermuda. They were still there this morning, said Petty Officer Kendrick.

The sailboat is still drifting in the water near Bermuda. The Coast Guard disabled the boat's emergency locating transmitter (ELT) so it wouldn't emit distress signals and needlessly alarm other boats, Lt. Gale said.

A notice was sent out to mariners telling them the boat is still adrift. That way, if someone finds it, they can notify authorities and possibly return it to the owner.