OXNARD : Crew Honored for Rescue in Hurricane

The captain and crew of a cargo ship that rescued seven men in a yacht disabled by Hurricane Darby have been lauded by the Coast Guard.

Rear Adm. Marshall E. Gilbert, commander of the Coast Guard’s 11th District, presented a meritorious public service award Thursday to Capt. Ricardo P. Bautista and the crew of the Chiquita Roma in a brief ceremony at Channel Islands Harbor.

“The Coast Guard had a ways to go, and the boat was sinking when the Chiquita Roma got there,” said Petty Officer George Wills of the Channel Islands station. “If the Chiquita crew hadn’t helped out these people, they might not be here today.”

The Chiquita Roma was on its way to the Port of Hueneme to pick up a load of citrus when it veered 260 miles off course Monday to rescue the men.

The 70-foot motor yacht Oasis, on a trip from Florida to Newport Beach, became stranded when Hurricane Darby kicked up 90 m.p.h. winds and 25-foot-high seas about 220 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Coast Guard officials asked the Chiquita Roma to pick up the men because it was the vessel closest to the yacht, said Liz Brannan, a Coast Guard spokeswoman. It reached the disabled pleasure craft shortly before 1 p.m. Monday, picked up the passengers and sailed for Port Hueneme.

Nobody was injured, Brannan said. The rescued men are all from Los Angeles and Orange counties, she said.

Although the hurricane was fierce, the 400-foot-long merchant vessel had no problem reaching the yacht and saving its passengers, said Mike Hubbard, a representative for the Great White Fleet, which rented the Chiquita Roma.

“It was a lot rougher on that little yacht than on our ship,” he said.

After citrus is loaded onto the Chiquita Roma at the Port of Hueneme, the vessel will set sail for Japan and the Far East, Hubbard said.