Couple set sail for trip from Virginia to Portugal. Then lightning struck their vessel

About 10 days had passed since Yanni Nikopoulos and Dale Jones set off on a trans-Atlantic sailing trip when Jones’ daughter first contacted the U.S. Coast Guard.

She hadn’t heard a word from the two 65-year-olds, who left from Hampton, Virginia, on June 8 en route to the Azores, an island chain about 900 miles off the coast of Portugal, according to a news release from the Coast Guard.

When June 20 — their expected return date — came and went with no sign of the sailors, officials began its search for them, according to the release.

“We have not received any signs of distress, however, we encourage the public to keep a sharp eye out for Yanni Nikopoulos and Dale Jones,” said Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Pulliam, the search and rescue mission coordinator in the Coast Guard’s Fifth District Command Center, in a June 22 statement

Officials in the Azores, Bermuda and Canada all helped with the search.

On June 24, authorities found the Virginia Beach couple safe about 80 miles east of Chincoteague, an island off Virginia’s Eastern Shore.

Nikopoulos and Jones told Coast Guard officials that their vessel had been struck by lightning while sailing through rough weather. They rigged a spare sail and turned around to head back to Virginia, according to a June 24 news release from the Coast Guard.

They were not in distress and so hadn’t asked for help from the Coast Guard.

“We are extremely happy to learn Yanni and Dale are found and are safe,” said James Cifers, operations unit watchstander in the Coast Guard’s Fifth District Command Center, in a statement. “It is truly wonderful the pair will be reunited with their friends and family soon.”

This story was originally published June 24, 2022 at 4:26 PM with the headline "Couple set sail for trip from Virginia to Portugal. Then lightning struck their vessel."