I don’t know how to really put into words all the events that happened this last weekend, but all I do know is how blessed I am to be alive and to have been rescued at sea by some of the most courageous men and women of the USCG. Especially everyone at the command center, Issac Babcock, Nicholas Poehler, Amir, and Joe, I owe you men my life!
Last Saturday on our way back from Molokai, we experienced some of the roughest conditions on the water that I have ever seen. There were winds in excess of 35 mph and swells well over 10 feet in a gnarly rain squall that wouldn’t allow us to see more than 10 feet in front of the boat. We we’re heading back to Oahu and about halfway through the Kaiwi channel, we struck a piece of floating debris that punctured the bottom of the hull and completely submerged and flipped the vessel in less than one minute. With the quick reactions we were able to grab two lifejackets from inside the boat before we jumped in the water. As all of our belongings, my second epirb, and all other equipment were floating away, we were able to secure two coolers that we tied to the bobbing boat that allowed us to have flotation and stay together. Luckily I had one epirb on my wrist. We treaded water for roughly 45 minutes and had very limited communication with rescue personnel before we were able to get airlifted by the Coast Guard chopper. After we were rescued, we spoke to the pilots and crew and they notified us that the initial search was unsuccessful due to weather conditions. They continued to search and were able to locate our position once the ResQ Link EPIRB antenna was out of the water and a signal was clear. The simple device saved our lives. I can only imagine all the situations that could’ve gone wrong and left us stranded in the ocean, but thank God for our guardian angels watching over me and Franky and also the courageous men and women that helped save our lives.
I still have chicken skin writing this post and thank God every morning for allowing me to be alive and to be here for my family and friends. As gnarly and scary as the story is, I want everyone to understand how dangerous mother nature can be and to make sure that anyone partaking in ocean activities has the necessary equipment to allow the brave men and women of the US CG to have the opportunity to save more lives and eliminate loss. That’s simple device at save my life cost roughly $300, but my life and Frankie’s life are priceless.
We will prevail and come back stronger, and all that was lost was material and can be replaced. It will be a long rebuilding process but we will be back on the water again soon. I love you all, and I can’t wait to see everyone and hug you and tell you how much I love and respect you. I apologize to those that have reached out to me, my phone is now sitting at the bottom of the channel of bones, but when I do recover and get a new phone, I will contact everyone that has reached out.
RIP FV Smooth C’s and thank you for all the great memories.

Mahalo Ke Akua !