So earlier on bluesky, I came across the post above. The poster subsequently indicated this incident occurred the night of the 3rd, and indicated the vessel in distress “was 2 women, a kid and a dog and basically they were going too far with too little gas; we gave them some and helped find an anchorage for the night”
Zuck’s yacht Launchpad (above) is a $300million, 390′ long vessel built by dutch builder Feedship, and delivered in 2024. it. reportedly has space for 26 guests alongside a crew of roughly 50. By comparison, The cruise ship Wilderness Legacy (below) was built in 1984 as a replica Chesapeake Bay coastal steamer. It is a 192′ long, and has space for 86 guests in 42 cabins. The ship operates with 28 crew.
So did it happen? The US Coast Guard Provided the following statement.
The Coast Guard can confirm that a 21-foot Hewescraft vessel hailed the Coast Guard for assistance on VHF-FM channel 16 at approximately 9:32 p.m. August 3rd in the vicinity of Point Highland, Alaska. At approximately 9:56 p.m., the Coast Guard determined they were not in distress and issued a marine assistance request broadcast on their behalf. The vessel Wilderness Legacy responded to the Coast Guard’s marine assistance request broadcast and arrived on scene with the 21-foot vessel at approximately 10:58 p.m. The Wilderness Legacy towed the vessel to Farragut Bay, and the 21-foot vessel was reported to be safety anchored in the bay at approximately 12:50 a.m. August 4th.
USCG Arctic District Public Affairs.
A 21-foot Hewescraft is a welded aluminum boat, and the style is pretty common on the pacific coast.
The AIS tracks of the two vessels seem to confirm what the original poster said. Launchpad was in front, but then slowed to a stop, and the Cruise Ship Wilderness Legacy sailed on by to the assistance of the vessel. once the vessel requiring assistance was safely at anchor, and the Wilderness Legacy had Departed, Launchpad continued on its way.
So far i have been unable to find any publicly available recordings of marine VHF ch16 for that area. The AIS seems to line up with what was reported the captain of the Wilderness Legacy said. Per the USCG, they determined that this was not a distress situation, so that may, under maritime law remove the requirement to render assistance. This might suggest that Launchpad may have hung back in case they were required, but decided not to be the first vessel to assist.
Either way, this is the sort of thing that gets noticed, and it certainly doesn’t make Launchpad or Zuckerberg look good.