Man recounts collision with whale that sunk his boat

A Northern California whose 50-foot sailboat sank off the coast of western Mexico after colliding with a whale tells his story.?

By John S. Marshall,?Associated Press / June 25, 2012

At his home on Sunday in Sacramento, Max Young holds a world map showing his journey around the globe. Young who was rescued after his sailboat was hit and sunk by a whale, arrived back home just in time to take his wife out to dinner for their 23rd wedding anniversary on Sunday.

Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee/AP

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A?Northern?California?man?whose?sailboat?sank?off?of?western?Mexico?after a?collision?with awhale?said?Sunday?that the?impact?was so?powerful?that the?stern?of the?22-ton?vessel?was?lifted?out of the?water.

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Max Young returned home to Sacramento on Friday, 10 days after the breaching?whale?slammed onto the bow of his 50-foot boat during a solo voyage.

Young, 67, was on the final leg of a journey from the East Coast to Emeryville, Calif., when the 55-foot-long?whale?hit the boat just after dark on June 12.

"The head of that?whale?would have had to have cleared at least 12 feet (from the?water) before he came down on the boat," Young told The Associated Press on?Sunday. "I could see its head. It must have been a young?whale?because he only had a few barnacles."

Young was not hurt in the?collision, but the steep angle of the boat sent him sliding down the deck toward a pile of sea bags. He?said?he was only about 10 feet away from the?whale?at the time of?impact.

Within a few seconds the?whale?slid back into the?water, but not before causing severe damage to the?sailboat?and leaving behind evidence that it had been injured in the encounter.

"I saw a piece of rubbery type of material," he?said. "It was skin from the?whale."

But Young had other things to worry about.?Water?was gushing in through what he later discovered was a massive crack, the boat's steering was damaged and any possible help was hours away.

Young?said?he was about 40 miles?off?the?western?coast of?Mexico, or about 400 miles southwest of San Diego. While the boat's bilge pumps struggled to pump out the ocean?water, he went to work trying to get the boat back on course.

Young activated an emergency beacon, which alerted the U.S. Coast Guard. With that information, officials at the command center were able to direct a merchant ship, which was about 60 miles away, to the sinking craft.

Young had a life raft on board and a larger inflatable boat, but neither was inflating sufficiently to be seaworthy. And the freighter redirected by the Coast Guard, was still a few hours away.

"I started making my peace with God," Young?said. "I thought I was going to die."

It's when his spirits were lowest, when Young first spotted the rescue ship?off?in the distance.

"About that time I could see the freighter coming," he?said. "I knew I was going to be OK."

The Coast Guard also dispatched a HC-130 Hercules aircraft to help guide the rescue ship to the stricken boat. When the plane arrived and circled overhead, the air crew could see Young bailing out?water.

When the ship arrived, crewmembers helped hoist him?off?his boat. Young, who has spent most of his life on the sea, was unharmed during the ordeal.

"This case is one of those success stories," Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class Pamela Boehland?said?earlier this month, just after the rescue. "A?man?went out prepared, the worst happened to him and he was able to respond."

Young spent six days on board the freighter as it steamed to Panama. He arrived back in Sacramento Friday, just two days before he and his wife, Debra, were to celebrate their 23rd anniversary.

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