Mark Zuckerberg under scanner after his superyacht says no to being hero and save stranded boat
Somewhere off the coast of Southeast Alaska on last Monday night, a 21-foot skiff ran out of fuel between Petersburg and Juneau. The skiff was
Somewhere off the coast of Southeast Alaska on last Monday night, a 21-foot skiff ran out of fuel between Petersburg and Juneau. The skiff was in need of help. And what happened next became a viral story that involved one of the world’s richest men, his $300 luxury superyacht and a much smaller cruise ship. According to a report by the Alaska Beacon, the rescue was carried out by the Wilderness Legacy, a small cruise ship operated by UnCruise Adventures, which made an unplanned detour to tow the stranded boat to safety. But the incident drew attention because of what the ship’s captain reportedly told passengers. Read Full Story A passenger aboard the Wilderness Legacy, software developer Michael Love, shared on Bluesky that the captain announced Mark Zuckerberg's yacht was actually closer to the stranded boat but hadn't responded to the call for help.
According to Love, that announcement was met with "near unanimous booing" from everyone on board. What the tracking data showed Ship-tracking data reviewed by multiple outlets appeared to back up part of that story. It showed Zuckerberg's $300 million, 387-foot yacht, named Launchpad, slowing to a stop near the entrance of Farragut Bay, right around the time the Wilderness Legacy passed it, continued on, found the stranded skiff, and towed it into the sheltered bay. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, there was never an actual distress call to begin with, just a general request for assistance, which the Coast Guard itself decided didn't qualify as an emergency. Coast Guard Public Affairs Specialist Shannon Shepard confirmed that the call came in around 9:30 p.m., and by 9:56 p.m., the Coast Guard determined the skiff wasn't in distress and simply broadcast a general request for help on their behalf, which the Wilderness Legacy answered.
A spokesperson for Zuckerberg, Brian Baker, later told The Verge that neither Zuckerberg nor his family were even on the yacht at the time. According to Baker, the yacht's crew was operating on a different radio channel than the one the assistance call went out on, and by the time they caught wind of it, the Wilderness Legacy had already handled the situation. "We're grateful all parties are safe," Baker said. As for the skiff itself, the Wilderness Legacy refuelled it after towing it to safety, and its crew made it to Petersburg without further trouble the next day. It also turns out this wasn't even the only rescue by a small Alaskan cruise ship recently.
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