Former Endicotter recounts tale of ship rescue off Hawaii

Despite five broken vertebrae and a fractured rib from his last trip at sea, Phillip Johnson is preparing to head back across the Pacific.

Johnson, 62, has been recovering with friends in Endicott from injuries sustained when a rogue wave jolted the 48-foot yacht he, his nephew and a friend were ferrying to Hawaii from San Diego.

“We had a great first stretch,” said Johnson, who retired from the Navy after serving 20 years. “For the first 2,000 miles, everything went tickety-boom.”

But then it all went sideways... literally.

Near midnight Oct. 5, with 15-knot winds pushing the boat along, John...