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Seattle couple, two dogs rescued on high seas

by KING 5 News and KING5.com

KING5.com

Posted on November 13, 2009 at 6:28 PM

Updated Monday, Nov 16 at 12:08 PM

HONOLULU, Hawaii - It was a dramatic rescue on the high seas when a man and woman from Seattle hit rough weather about 400 miles from Hawaii.

Christohper Miller and Brandy Meissner had to abandon their 38-foot fishing boat in the Pacific on Friday after fighting high winds and enormous waves.

"We did see some that had to be 40 feet, just huge waves," said Miller.

"You'd go up, up, up and then come crashing down," said Meissner.

They sent out a signal and the cruise ship "Golden Princess" came to the rescue.

'They altered course and were on our position about 12 hours after the signal," said Miller.

The two got ready to abandon ship, but they weren't the only ones on board.

The couple's two dogs, Romeo and Akilah, were with them.

"We deployed our life raft, we put on our survival suits, the lifesaving equipment, put life vests on the dogs, taped up their paws really good," said Miller.

With the Coast Guard coordinating the search from the air, pups and people made it safely onto the cruise ship.

They're safe, but the real happy ending hasn't happened yet. Their live-aboard fishing boat is still out there somewhere, they hope. 

"We're basically jobless and homeless unless we get our boat, so our mission is to get out there, find the boat get a tow, continue on from there," said Miller.

Miller and Meissner left San Francisco last month for what was to be a two-week trip to Hawaii, where they were to start a commercial fishing business.

They hope a tracking device on their boat will help them recover it and move forward with their plans.

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Comments: Displaying 1 - 11 of 11

bosh1969 said on December 6, 2009 at 11:23 AM

We, also, were aboard the Golden Princess during the rescue. Though passengers were not allowed on the open decks, I did run around the ship seeking the best inside views of the rescue. The next day we were fortunate to ride the elevator with the couple and their dogs. They were delightful! My question now is, were they able to retrieve their fishing boat???

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garyh said on November 23, 2009 at 10:21 AM

My wife and I were on the Princess cruise that picked up the couple from Seattle. The Captain anounced that we were "under Coast Guard Control" and that there were 2 people and 2 dogs in distress about 27 nautical miles North of our position . Being the only ship in the area The Golden Princess was designated by the Coast Gurd as the rescue craft. We were "lucky" in that our balcony was located directly above the rescue site so we got some great pictures! Everything that happened was pretty well covered in the King5 article but for one small detail tht no one, that I know of, has mentioned. As we watched the Ship's Rescue Boat tow in the fishing boat's life raft we had a clear overhead view of sharks following close behind. We were looking straight down on the action and it's likely that no one involved was even aware of their presence. My wife and I wonder how long they had been followed.

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jcman said on November 21, 2009 at 4:14 PM

This story is about a month old.

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ss427 said on November 16, 2009 at 11:12 AM

Harleygold,,,,,, read rule #1. Always climb UP. And as others have said, don't be out there in November. I've been out there in my sailboat. Fifty foot seas! Horrible. What's that? What month? Why, it was August.

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firefoxtwo said on November 16, 2009 at 10:57 AM

Did the guy check the weather report??? November is not a good month to sail to Hawaii. November is not a good Month to go to Hawaii.

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hawkwind said on November 16, 2009 at 2:00 AM

Rule #1 when abandoning ship. You never step down into your life raft only up. Why did they get off the boat when it was obviously floating just fine by the looks of the picture and by the statement that they want to go back and get it? I guess its not sinking after all. Oh yes and to the reporter narrating the video clip, the cruise ship wasn't the first boat WILLING to come help. Maritime law says you have to. One more comment, Why were they leaving San Francisco this time of year for a passage to Hawaii, not to smart. Look what happened to that Seattle couple a few weeks ago. They recently found their bodies washed up on a Washington coast beach. Very sad.

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harlygold1965 said on November 15, 2009 at 9:56 PM

Lack of fuel, high seas, sounds like a good purpose to jump ship. This guy has been fishing for over 20 years, He is not one to just jump ship.

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butch69 said on November 15, 2009 at 10:41 AM

Who knows they were rescued from their boat on the high seas.

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ss427 said on November 15, 2009 at 10:15 AM

Why, why, why? You don't abandon a floating boat that is recoverable without reason. Why were they forced off?

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whitetrashed said on November 15, 2009 at 12:15 AM

they should rename it the SS Minnow

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uradragon said on November 14, 2009 at 5:27 PM

Half a story. So why did they need rescuing? Why did they have to abandon their boat?

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