We are so incredibly thankful for the bravery and kindness of the crew of the Reliance! They have kept us updated on Bob/Dad/Grandpa's condition, and he is improving steadily. The Reliance will make port late on Wed night /early Thurs morning, and the CG will arrange transport for him to a nearby medical facility. The Reliance skipper sent us the following email today (please note that Bob has been unable to speak for most of the past 48 hours):


Your Dad rested well last night.
Our Steward has been preparing meals for him that he has been able to get down. He is eating and hydrating well. Following his breakfast, we got him into a hot bath. He liked that.
Your Dad is responsive to my conversations with him. He nods and smiles a lot. His frustration at not being able to speak is getting better.
We are monitoring him 24/7 and in contact with the medical professionals.

That was some attempt at bringing him aboard! The plan was to bring him into our lifeboat, but the winds kicked up and the seas were just too rough to pull that off. I have some minor scratches to my lifeboat and it looks like I have what’s left of (the Gallivant's) anemometer and mast head light bulb. Just a couple hours earlier, the winds were light and the seas calm. I was hoping to that it would be dead calm near the water with no wind. Not the case. If anything the wind picked up to about 15 or 20 knots and the seas started building.
This big old ship (892 feet) was just never intended to be a rescue vessel. We are set up for abandon ship is all. No towing for us either. We were originally what is called a LASH ship. In the old days this vessel carried barges and had a huge crane on deck. Since then we have been changed into a containership.
Our next attempt at getting your dad was with our crane using a stokes litter (basket) but that was quickly ruled our because you had too much rigging and no place to land the stokes litter. We were running out of options.
The last attempt was with our accommodation ladder (gangway) where you saw our Chief Engineer and Boatswain make it happen. Once we had your dad on deck, we put him in the stokes litter (stretcher) and hauled him up to our hospital. You know most of the rest from the Captain’s correspondence emails.
Keep the faith and say your prayers. It can only help. Try not to worry. We are doing everything that we can to make him comfortable and safe.
And GOOD NEWS! I just got the word that your Dad is talking right now. I’m getting down there to check on him!!!! Yes!