HONOLULU — The Coast Guard located the crew of the sailing vessel Honeycutter, 30 miles from Lahaina, Maui, Sunday.
Found are father and son, Frank “Jon” Gogolski and Joshua Gogolski, with Jerome Pascual.
The Coast Guard received a call from the Honeycutter crew at 11:30 a.m. reporting they were delayed due to a damaged sail and heavier seas than anticipated, but are not in distress and should reach Maui by evening. They will advise the Coast Guard when they reach port.
“The crew was reportedly unable to make contact with family until they travelled back into cell phone range and did not have their VHF-FM radio turned to Channel 16, thus missing the Coast Guards call outs,” said Lt. Kevin Edes, the command duty officer at Coast Guard Sector Command Center Honolulu. “Mariners should keep their radio tuned to Channel 16, the international hailing and distress frequency, whenever possible to monitor broadcasts from the Coast Guard regarding weather, emergencies and safety bulletins.”
Watchstanders at the sector received a report at 9:15 p.m. Saturday, from a family member reporting the overdue. They immediately conducted callouts and issued the UMIB. At first light they launched a Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter.
The Dolphin crew, HC-130 Hercules aircrew from Air Station Barbers Point and a Response Boat-Medium from Coast Guard Station Maui conducted a search along the route planned by the three–man crew of the 36-foot blue and white sailboat. An Urgent Marine Information Broadcast was also issued.
The crew of the sailboat reportedly departed Rainbow Marina in Pearl Harbor on Oahu Friday. They planned to sail to Lahaina, Maui, where Pascual would depart and return to Oahu, while the Gogolskis continued on to the West Coast. When Pascual failed to arrive at the airport Saturday night his wife called to report him missing. Honolulu Police Department personnel were also alerted.
Weather conditions were reported as northeast winds at 12 – 17 mph with seas up to 6-feet and good visibility.