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| Family of baby girl rescued by US navy warship defend decision to sail | Family of baby girl rescued by US navy warship defend decision to sail |
| (about 14 hours later) | |
| The parents of a one-year-old girl who was rescued with her family by a US navy warship, after she fell ill during a round-the-world sailing trip, have defended their decision to make the voyage with two young children. | The parents of a one-year-old girl who was rescued with her family by a US navy warship, after she fell ill during a round-the-world sailing trip, have defended their decision to make the voyage with two young children. |
| The child who fell ill during the voyage and her family were heading to San Diego, where she can receive further medical treatment after their rescue on Sunday from their stalled 36ft sailboat hundreds of miles off the Mexican coast. | The child who fell ill during the voyage and her family were heading to San Diego, where she can receive further medical treatment after their rescue on Sunday from their stalled 36ft sailboat hundreds of miles off the Mexican coast. |
| "We understand there are those who question our decision to sail with our family, but please know that this is how our family has lived for seven years, and when we departed on this journey more than a year ago, we were then and remain today confident that we prepared as well as any sailing crew could," the San Diego couple, Eric and Charlotte Kaufman, said in a statement from the USS Vandegrift. | "We understand there are those who question our decision to sail with our family, but please know that this is how our family has lived for seven years, and when we departed on this journey more than a year ago, we were then and remain today confident that we prepared as well as any sailing crew could," the San Diego couple, Eric and Charlotte Kaufman, said in a statement from the USS Vandegrift. |
| "The ocean is one of the greatest forces of nature, and it always has the potential to overcome those who live on or near it. We are proud of our choices and our preparation," the statement said. | "The ocean is one of the greatest forces of nature, and it always has the potential to overcome those who live on or near it. We are proud of our choices and our preparation," the statement said. |
| The Kaufmans, their one-year-old daughter Lyra and her three-year-old sister, Cora, had started across the Pacific in March when the baby girl developed a fever and a rash covering most of her body and did not respond to medications. They sent a satellite call for help to the US Coast Guard on Thursday, after their sailboat, Rebel Heart, lost steering and communication abilities about 900 miles southwest of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. | |
| Four California air national guard members parachuted into the water and reached the boat on Thursday night. The crew stabilised the girl, stayed by her side and then hopped on an inflatable boat with the family to board the USS Vandegrift. | |
| The frigate was expected to arrive in San Diego midweek, coastguard petty officer 2nd class Barry Bena said. | |
| Authorities decided to sink the Rebel Heart because it was taking on water, Bena said. | Authorities decided to sink the Rebel Heart because it was taking on water, Bena said. |
| Charlotte Kaufman's sister, Sariah Kay English, posted on her Facebook page that the family took only what they could carry from the broken boat. The Kaufmans said in the statement they were disappointed to lose their sailboat they called home. | Charlotte Kaufman's sister, Sariah Kay English, posted on her Facebook page that the family took only what they could carry from the broken boat. The Kaufmans said in the statement they were disappointed to lose their sailboat they called home. |
| It was still not immediately known what illness the girl may have had. | It was still not immediately known what illness the girl may have had. |
| Before the family left for the trip, Lyra had salmonella poisoning, but doctors cleared her to travel after she was healthy again, English said. When her sister first mentioned plans to sail with two young children, English recalled, "I thought it was nuts." | Before the family left for the trip, Lyra had salmonella poisoning, but doctors cleared her to travel after she was healthy again, English said. When her sister first mentioned plans to sail with two young children, English recalled, "I thought it was nuts." |
| But English said the couple was always careful. Eric Kaufman is a Coast Guard-licensed captain who introduced sailing to Charlotte Kaufman during one of their early dates. | But English said the couple was always careful. Eric Kaufman is a Coast Guard-licensed captain who introduced sailing to Charlotte Kaufman during one of their early dates. |
| "They were not going into this blind. I knew they were doing this wisely," English said. | "They were not going into this blind. I knew they were doing this wisely," English said. |