Ron Ingrahm, 67, is believed to be the man who made a mayday call early Thursday reporting that his small boat was taking on water miles offshore of Kailua-Kona, the U.S. Coast Guard said Friday afternoon.
Ingrahm is likely the sole person aboard the 25-foot sailing vessel “Malia” that departed Kaunakakai Harbor, Molokai, headed to Manele Bay, Lanai. A friend of Ingram called Coast Guard Sector Honolulu Command Center on Friday and said Tuesday was the last time he spoke with him.
Despite more than a day of searching, Coast Guard crews had turned up no sign of the vessel or man as of press time on Friday.
Watchstanders at Sector Honolulu Command Center received a mayday call over VHF radio Ch. 16 at 8:03 a.m. Thursday from a mariner who stated his coordinates were 19 degrees, 58 minutes, 283 seconds north; 156 degrees, 46 minutes, 224 seconds west. That placed him about 46 miles west of Kailua-Kona.
The mariner, now believed to be Ingrahm, reported flooding on his small boat before communications were lost.
“This is a mayday, mayday, mayday. I’m in the middle of Alenui(haha) Channel, uh, small boat in danger of sinking,” he said. “Anybody picks this up give me a relay. This is a mayday, mayday.”
On Friday, the Coast Guard Cutter Ahi, an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter, and C-130 Hercules airplane crews were searching for the vessel. The search was to continue overnight into Saturday.
The search and rescue crews are using information from a self-locating datum marker buoy that tracks currents to plot a possible search area for the vessel.
A U.S. Coast Guard spokesman on Friday told West Hawaii Today it was unlikely the mayday call was a hoax because the Coast Guard signal that picked up the call indicated the coordinates the man provided fell within the tower’s “line-of-sight.”
At the scene Friday, winds were blowing at 34 to 46 mph with seas up to 20 feet, the Coast Guard said. Visibility remained clear.
A small craft advisory remains in effect for the area, according to the National Weather Service in Honolulu. The service forecast rough seas of 10 to 15 feet and 35 mph east winds. Smaller vessels are advised to avoid navigating in the hazardous conditions. The advisory remains posted until 6 p.m. Sunday.
Anyone who may have any further information about the vessel is asked to contact the U.S. Coast Guard at (808) 842-2600.