Bahamas: Family Rescued after Yacht Runs Aground on Coral Reef

Tony Bryant, Krista Scholl and their eight-year-old daughter, Adelaide had embarked on a dream voyage of working remotely from their sailboat and showing their daughter the world, documenting their journey on Instagram. The family had spent years saving and personally repairing their vessel to make their live-aboard life possible.

The incident occurred while they were sailing from Acklins Island in the Bahamas, heading for Betsy Bay on Mayaguana Island, with a final destination of the Dominican Republic. As they cruised south of Plana Cays, their boat was blown off course and quickly went from deep water to very shallow water, eventually running aground.

The yacht was south of the Plana Cays in the Bahamas when it was blown off course. Image from Google Earth.

Their yacht which has a six-foot keel, began taking on water rapidly. The family quickly deployed their life raft and got Adelaide into it. Tony Bryant managed to put down an anchor, tie the raft to the boat and make distress calls on a handheld radio.

Unknown to them at the time, a passing ship heard their calls and relayed their position to the U.S. Coast Guard. When the Coast Guard helicopters approached, the family used flares to signal their exact location. A U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater aircrew, deployed as part of Operation Bahamas Turks and Caicos, located the family in their life raft around 7 a.m.

A rescue diver was deployed from the helicopter, and the family was hoisted into a basket and safely transported to Bahamian authorities in Great Inagua. Fortunately, no injuries were reported. The owner is now coordinating with commercial salvage to recover the vessel. The Coast Guard emphasized the importance of carrying a radio and an emergency distress beacon for mariners.

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