Early on Monday morning, August 7th, CCL-Carnival Cruise Line's Mardi Gras came to the aid of a distressed couple aboard a sailboat.
The couple was stranded ~20 NM (37 km) off Castle Island (just south of Crooked Island, Bahamas). The Mardi Gras was alerted by the US Coast Guard when she was less than 9 NM away from the sailboat.
Swiftly altering her course, the ship redirected her path and dedicated about 2 hours to locating the troubled sailboat. Eventually, Mardi Gras deployed a lifeboat to reach the stranded vessel and provide assistance to the pair, both of whom are Americans.
Upon being brought aboard the Mardi Gras, the man from the distressed sailboat received medical attention in the ship's infirmary. He is currently under the care of the onboard medical team, although no further particulars were disclosed regarding the condition of the couple.
At the time of the rescue, Mardi Gras was on an 8-day Southern Caribbean voyage (roundtrip from Port Canaveral/Orlando, Florida USA) and en route to Aruba (Oranjestad). Following the successful rescue operation, the ship resumed the original itinerary and is set to arrive in Aruba on Tuesday.
For more Carnival Mardi Gras incidents and accidents see the ship's CruiseMinus page.