The United States Coast Guard (USCG) rescued nine crew members of the Halifax-based tall ship Liana’s Ransom on March 30, after the boat’s engines had become disabled and high winds had entangled its sails around the mast.
The Sector Boston Command Center (SBCC) was notified of the schooner’s problems at about 12:35 a.m. that morning, according to a USCG news release. Search-and-rescue crews from the Coast Guard responded immediately, as did those from Air Station Cape Cod and the Coast Guard Cutter Ocracoke (CGCO). Liana’s Ransom’s entire crew eventually transferred from the ship to the USCG’s motor lifeboats, about 93 kilometres east of Gloucester, Massachusetts.
One man injured his head while leaping into a lifeboat and was airlifted to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, the USCG said. The other eight were brought safely to the rescue station in Gloucester.
“It was fortunate for the crew of the vessel that the owner reached out to us,” SBCC command-duty officer Jay Woodhead said, as quoted in the press release.
Woodhead was referring to Ryan Tilley, the ship’s owner and crew captain. Tilley had made the decision to radio for help and abandon ship.
“Captain Ryan Tilley made the… right call in the best interests of his crew, and as a father, I am very proud of the way he and his crew handled the situation,” Tilley’s father, Joseph, wrote in a post on the Liana’s Ransom Facebook page on March 31. “As befits a captain, he was the last crew [member] to depart the vessel, ensuring all water-tight doors and hatches were closed before he disembarked.
“We can happily report that everyone is safe and secure ashore,” Joseph Tilley added.
Liana’s Ransom left Nova Scotia for St. Maarten, Dutch West Indies at about 6:00 p.m. on March 27, according to the elder Tilley’s previous post, which was dated that evening; he had been planning to board the ship in the Bahamas. But the ship suffered a full power failure over the weekend, causing it to drift in the ocean as the waves swelled up to three metres high, while rough winds caused the sails to wrap around the mast.
Joseph Tilley also noted that the ship had been repaired in a shipyard before the journey. “You can see the craftsmanship in the rebuilt wheel,” he wrote, calling the repair job “some very fine work.”
Media reports have stated that three of the crew members became extremely seasick shortly after the schooner left Canada.
The USCG noted that the rescuers had left a locator beacon on Liana’s Ransom and that the CGCO was on its way to the schooner to evaluate the prospect of towing it to shore.
“We are hopeful that the tow operation goes well,” the elder Tilley said.
A 25-metre-long schooner with steel hulls, Liana’s Ransom was built in Houston in 2005, according to information from the ship’s official website. After buying the ship, the Tilley family converted it into a two-mast, gaff-rigged, square-topsail schooner of the style favoured by pirates and privateers in the 18th Century.
“She has all of the latest safety features and navigation aids and meets or exceeds all Transport Canada requirements,” the website states.
In his post following the incident, Joseph Tilley thanked the USCG for its professionalism and prompt response.
“Thank you to everyone for your concern,” he wrote.