Nine people had some scary moments on board a mega-yacht outside the Charlotte Amalie harbor Tuesday afternoon when the vessel began to take on water as a result of a broken rudder post.
The yacht, Indigo Star, was about five miles southeast of St. Thomas when the rudder assembly came apart. Electrical and hydraulic-systems failure caused the transom door to remain open and additional water entered the bottom deck of the vessel.
The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Bainbridge Island, which had left St. Thomas following a weekend in port, responded to the mayday call and began to pump out the vessel while it was on its way to St. Thomas.
The Indigo Star returned to St. Thomas on its own power and pumping continued aboard the $8 million yacht at the waterfront bulkhead with additional pumps brought in to augment those already on board.
Lt. Jeffrey Thomas of the Bainbridge Island said the USCG command center in San Juan notified the cutter that the Indigo Star was taking on water. A rescue team was placed on board the mega-yacht, registered in Bridgetown, as the initial pump-out operation began.
The vessel remained docked at the waterfront bulkhead Tuesday night.
The Coast Guard cutter, based in Highlands, N.J., was on temporary assignment in the Puerto Rico-Virgin Islands area. It was11 miles out of St. Thomas when the distress call was relayed to it.
Thomas said the vessel and its crew of 15 has been involved in an interception of illegal aliens off Puerto Rico in addition to the mid-afternoon rescue mission on Tuesday.
