(CNN) -- Five American boaters missing for days have been found safe and are on their way to the Philippines, the U.S. Coast Guard said Sunday.
The 38-foot Pineapple left Guam on January 6 and was making a 1,400-mile (2,250-km) journey to the island of Cebu, Philippines, to deliver the vessel, officials said. The boat was expected in Cebu on January 16.
A Philippine coast guard vessel made contact with a sailboat and confirmed it was the Pineapple, the Philippine coast guard said in a statement Sunday.
Four men and one woman were aboard the Pineapple.
"The husband of one of the missing boaters was contacted by his wife via cell phone Sunday," the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement Sunday. "He immediately called Rescue Coordination Center Guam and gave the Pineapple's position in Leyte Gulf, Philippines. The husband confirmed the vessel ran into bad weather and suffered a rudder and radio casualty. This delayed the Pineapple's voyage but it was never in danger of sinking."
Capt. Thomas Sparks, sector commander of the U.S. Coast Guard Guam, said rescue crews were grateful those aboard the Pineapple were found safe.
"I'm elated for the family and friends of the Pineapple, but compelled to point out that this voyage was made without taking basic, common-sense precautions," Sparks said in the statement. "The vessel did not have long distance communications or emergency distress equipment and a comprehensive float plan was not filed."
Several aircraft searched for more than 63 hours and covered approximately 122,600 square nautical miles in the Philippine Sea.
The Philippine coast guard also assisted in the search, and the Republic of Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia allowed the United States to use their airfields, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The Philippine coast guard is escorting the crew to its final destination of Cebu.
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