Crew Member Airlifted from National Geographic Vessel
While many families spent Easter Sunday together on April 20, 2025, rescuers from the US Coast Guard remained on-call to keep people safe while at sea.
Thankfully, the team from Coast Guard Sector Columbia River and Air Station North Bend in Oregon were at the ready when National Geographic Venture called for help at 6:38 a.m. local time.
The expedition vessel from Lindblad Expeditions was sailing 15 miles off the coast of Coos Bay, Oregon, when its medical team reached out to the Coast Guard in Columbia River, requesting assistance.
One of its own crew members, reported to be a 30-year-old male, needed emergency transport to a local hospital after experiencing excessive vomiting and shortness of breath earlier Sunday morning.
After consulting with a Coast Guard duty flight surgeon, it was determined the crew member needed to be airlifted from the 2,920-gross-ton vessel.
At 8 a.m., a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from North Bend flew to the ship’s location and hoisted the crew member from the vessel’s deck.
The helicopter transported the man to Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay. According to the Coast Guard, he was in stable condition upon arrival.
“Safe and efficient medical evacuations of mariners are only possible through closely coordinated efforts from start to finish,” said Lt. Christopher Saylor, search and rescue mission coordinator with Sector Columbia River.
“The expert coordination between the flight crews, vessel master, and watch standers resulted in a successful outcome for the patient,” he continued.
Emergency During Repositioning
Lindblad Expedition’s National Geographic Venture often seeks adventure on its voyages but was making its way from Baja California, Mexico, to reposition to the Pacific Northwest when the emergency occurred.
Having completed its last Baja routes on April 15, 2025, a 14-night roundtrip journey from Loreto, Mexico, the 100-passenger ship was traveling to Seattle, where she is currently stationed to prepare for an upcoming 13-day, one-way sailing.
While it is unclear whether the crew member will be well enough to join the next voyage, National Geographic Venture will set sail on April 27, 2025, and travel to Sitka, Alaska.
The itinerary includes calls in San Juan Islands, Washington; and Vancouver, the Gulf Islands, and Alert Bay, Canada before reaching Alaska.
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There, she will explore the Inside Passage, Misty Fjords, Petersburg, Tracy Arm Fjord, Glacier Bay, the Inian Islands, Icy Strait Point, and Baranof Island before arriving in Sitka on May 10, 2025.
Barring any further incidents, which National Geographic Venture is not known to have, guests can look forward to 7-day Alaskan cruises between Sitka and Juneau and back through the end of August.
Meanwhile, the US Coast Guard will surely be ready to assist any cruise ships sailing in the area and beyond. A MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Hawaii’s Coast Giard Air Station Barbers Point recently supported Holland America Line’s Koningsdam.
Rescuing a 72-year-old man experiencing stroke-like symptoms, the US Coast Guard’s team medevacked the passenger on February 27, 2025, to Honolulu’s Queen’s Medical Center.
A few days later, March 3, 2025, another helicopter team in Texas airlifted a 9-year-old female guest sailing on Disney Cruise Line’s Disney Magic.
That dramatic rescue, involving Air Station Houston, safely took the young passenger to the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
Hopefully, there will not be any reports of rescues made in the coming months, but Cruise Hive wants to share its gratitude for the US Coast Guard for being ready when need arises.