Seafaring adventure has sad end - but all safe SHIPWRECK

The Princess TaiPing sails off the coast of Taiwan. Eleven crew members of a 54-foot wooden Chinese junk were rescued after a freighter rammed into the replica vessel, splitting it in half off the coast of Taiwan, relatives of crew members from Hawaii said Monday, April 27, 2009. less The Princess TaiPing sails off the coast of Taiwan. Eleven crew members of a 54-foot wooden Chinese junk were rescued after a freighter rammed into the replica vessel, splitting it in half off the coast of ... more Photo: AP Photo: AP Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Seafaring adventure has sad end - but all safe 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

The Chinese junk Princess Taiping paused at San Francisco last fall at the midpoint of a historical adventure - a round trip across the Pacific to show that Asian sailors might have reached North America before Columbus.

The adventure came to a sad end Sunday morning in the ocean off Taiwan when the 54-foot vessel, built to the specifications of a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) war junk, was hit by a large freighter and sunk. The 11 Princess Taiping crew members survived. The large ship did not stop or render assistance.

The Princess Taiping was only hours away from completing an 14,000-mile voyage. Nelson Liu, the captain, said he felt "more than regret.

"We were less than 30 miles from the end of the voyage," he said by phone from Taipei. "But I still feel lucky that everyone survived. It was a miracle. God or Buddha kept us alive."

The big ship hit the wooden junk amidships, splitting it in half. The crew clung to the wreckage. Liu said the other ship hung around awhile, then steamed off.

However, the Princess Taiping's emergency beacon sent out a signal, which was picked up by the U.S. Coast Guard in Los Angeles and relayed to Taiwan authorities, who sent a helicopter and a rescue ship.

One of the crew members, an American named Thomas Cook, suffered neck injuries, but the rest had only minor injuries or were unhurt. Six of the 11 crew members were Americans who joined the junk when it called at Honolulu in December; two were Japanese; two were from Taiwan and one from China.