When the dive yacht Black Pearl 1 sustained a serious casualty off the coast of Palau last weekend, the crew and the owner were unusually lucky: the cutter USCGC Oliver Henry was located nearby. Coastguardsmen dewatered the charter vessel, helped with damage control, and towed it for 28 hours to a safe harbor.
On July 20, the Coast Guard's Guam station received a satellite distress alert from the 154-foot yacht Black Pearl I. The alert contained no information, but the station determined...