One of three Canadians picked up by a giant container ship at sea overnight after a storm damaged their Hawaii-bound sailboat is calling their dramatic rescue a “gauntlet of happiness.”

Brad James, 32, told CBC News on Thursday morning after the rescue that he felt great, despite the dramatic chain of events that led to the family’s boat sinking, leaving him and his nine-year-old son, West, floating in the dark sea for 2½ hours.

James’s brother, Mitch, who lives in the Edmonton area, had also been aboard the boat but was rescued before the others.

All three are now safe and in port in Honolulu.

Rescued 450 kilometres northeast of Hilo, Hawaii, they had been travelling from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, to Hilo on a sailboat named Liahona when they ran into trouble. Their mast broke and the boat’s engine overheated in a storm.

Picture courtesy of Hawaii News Now.

– CBC