The U.S. Coast Guard has confirmed that missing sailor Noel Rubio, 60, safely arrived in Hawaii aboard his sailing boat, “Malulani,” on Saturday. Rubio’s vessel, a 32-foot Westsail sloop, had departed Long Beach, California, on December 28, with a planned arrival in Kaneohe, O’ahu, Hawaii, by January 18.
Coast Guard efforts to locate Noel Rubio and the vessel began after receiving notification on Friday. Various means, including urgent marine information broadcasts (UMIB) and harbor checks in California, Hawaii, and Mexico, were employed to determine the Malulani’s location. Rubio had last communicated via cellphone on December 28, from south of Catalina Island, California, informing a friend of his enroute journey to Hawaii. The vessel’s sole means of communication is a VHF-FM marine band radio.
Douglas Samp, a search and rescue (SAR) mission coordinator in the Rescue Coordination Center Alameda, expressed gratitude for the assistance received from experienced trans-pacific sailors who provided expert consult advice on weather and routes during the search efforts.