Beautiful rescue

The Coast Guard’s Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue (AMVER) system has proven itself time and again as a superb way of mariners helping each other at sea. For recreational voyagers, AMVER has been a boon &mdash many sailors have been rescued from dire situations by AMVER-participating merchant ships coming to their aid. When sailors call for assistance offshore, they usually expect to see the black hull of a container ship coming alongside. Imagine the surprise of the crew of the sailboat Infanta when they called the Coast Guard for help and instead of a lumbering bulk carrier, the white hull of a sailing ship comes into view. Infanta was 200 miles off Cape Hatteras, bound for Long Island Sound when it asked for assistance. The ship that responded was Cisne Branco, the Brazilian Navy’s 256-foot sail training ship. No offense to our merchant marine friends, but what sailor wouldn’t want such a vessel to come to his or her rescue?