British captain fell overboard in the middle of the Pacific as sailor is rescued A British captain is feared dead and another sailor had to be rescued after one of them fell overboard in the middle of the Pacific. The U.S. Coastguard in Hawaii went to the scene 500 miles to the west of the Midway Atoll and after 15 hours there was still no sign of the captain. However, they plucked the inexperienced sailor - also a British citizen - to safety with the help of the U.S. Navy. The missing captain was wearing a yellow life jacket when he fell into the water and was conscious at the time, according to petty officer Eric Chandler. However fears are now growing for his safety. Remote: The boat and one man were found in the middle of the North Pacific Ocean Resources: The U.S. Navy diverted the USS Peleliu, an amphibious assault ship that was headed homeward, to assist in the search for the two men Officials from the Marine Rescue Coordination Center in Falmouth, reported to the U.S. Coast Guard in Hawaii at 11:30pm on Saturday that one man from the 38-foot vessel had fallen overboard. The man who remained on the boat reportedly had little sailing experience. The area nearly 2,000 miles from Oahu was too remote to reach quickly by boat, and winds were reported at 25 mph with 6-foot-high seas. 'It's real challenging out there,' Chandler said. 'We can't get our cutters out there.' The Coast Guard sent an HC-130 Hercules aeroplane from an Oahu air station, and the Navy diverted the USS Peleliu, an amphibious assault ship that was headed homeward, to assist in the search. Two Navy helicopters were sent to search from the Peleliu at about 5am Sunday. One of them found the boat, lowered a hoist and pulled the man in. Air and sea: The U.S Coast Guard sent an HC-130 Hercules airplane from an Oahu air station to the remote part of the Pacific The Coast Guard plane had two crews working shifts on the HC-130 so one could rest at Wake Island while the other searched. The men's names weren't immediately released and their voyage's purpose was not immediately clear. Chandler said that while remote, the location of the boat was not especially surprising. 'People sail pretty often pretty far out of reach,' he said. 'I don't think that it's that unusual.'