Oocl-Guangzhou

Four boaters and their pet cat are safe after the Coast Guard and a cargo ship helped rescue them at sea. The boaters became stranded on Friday, when the rudder of their 30-foot boat was damaged in a collision during their journey from Cabo San Lucas to Oregon. The family was initially picked up a Hong Kong based cargo ship, taking part in the Automated Mutual Assistance Vessel Rescue Program which the family says may have saved their lives. "This boar went way, way out of their way to help us," said the boat's owner Douglas Ray Merrell. "We absolutely could not have asked for better treatment. If a program like that was not in place, then we might not be sitting here today," he added sitting on a Hawaii harbor. The cargo ship, named Guangzhou, rescued the group about 650 miles southwest of San Diego then brought them to Hawaii for transfer.