A sailing vessel with a crack in its hull was under tow Thursday night by the Coast Guard northeast of Hawaii.

The Honolulu-based cutter Galveston Island reached the 36-foot Honey Cutter at about 7:30 p.m. Thursday and was towing the boat back to Honolulu, said an official with the Joint Rescue Coordination Center.

Pumps on board were keeping the leak in check, the official said.

The Coast Guard, Navy and the fishing vessel Captain Kenneth worked together to aid the Honey Cutter, which sent out a distress signal at 11:43 a.m. Wednesday, when it was about 400 miles northeast of Oahu.

The Honey Cutter reported that it was taking on water at a rate of about 2 gallons an hour.

A Navy P-3 Orion crew based on Oahu arrived at 5 p.m. and established contact with the Honey Cutter crew, who indicated they planned to stay with the vessel as long as possible while awaiting the arrival of the Captain Kenneth.

The 77-foot Captain Kenneth took the Honey Cutter under tow shortly after 11 p.m. Wednesday.

The Honey Cutter was involved in another Coast Guard case Aug. 30, when family members reported a crew overdue on a voyage to Maui from Oahu.

A search ensued, and the crew reported they were safe once they returned to cellphone service range. The crew had been delayed by weather and did not hear Coast Guard calls over VHF-FM radio because they were not tuned to Channel 16, the international hailing and distress frequency.