One of three people plucked from the ocean by a Hawaii-bound container ship this morning told a family member their rescue was a “miracle.”

Bradley James of Calgary, Alberta, said the crew aboard the cargo ship Horizon Reliance did a tremendous job of saving them in the darkness after their sailboat sank in heavy seas 280 miles northeast of Hilo, his brother Ryan James told the Star-Advertiser by telephone from Canada.

“He said it was nothing less than a miracle,” Ryan James said.

The brothers spoke by satellite telephone shortly after the rescue early Wednesday morning.

All three occupants of the sailboat were in good condition and were scheduled to arrive on the container ship in Honolulu early today.