Rescued
5:21am Passengers in the other open lifeboat board the ferry that has come from Raiatea. A dive boat stands by.
Smoke continues to rise from Wind Song in the background, orange-topped liferafts still available should the remaining crew on board need them. We later learned 17 crewmembers are still on board at this point fighting the fire and securing the ship.
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5:24am Our turn to board the ferry.
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5:28am Inside the ferry. A number of passengers escape wearing only their Windstar-provided fluffy bathrobes.
Moral: What might seem like an extravagance can unexpectedly turn into an essential.
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6:34am Discarded lifevests and exhausted passengers and crew on their way back to Raiatea.
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8:01am Nearing Raiatea. The ferry trip took about two hours.
Info about images/video of the windsong fire and evacuation available by emailing: windsongfire at gmail dot com