Santa Rosa sailor's rescuer honored by U.N.

At a grand and tearful ceremony in London, the world thanked a modest Fijian seaman for saving the life of longtime Santa Rosa urologist/sailor Jerry Morgan.

Delegates from 169 countries witnessed the reunion of Jerry, 72, and 28-year-old James Fanifau in a great hall at the headquarters of the United Nations' International Maritime Organization.

The IMO presented Fanifau its Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea for having climbed over the railing of a cargo ship amid a hellish storm off of Australia in May of 2009 and clambered down a life-ring rope to grab tightly ahold of Jerry.

At that moment, the seagoing doc was exhausted, battered and close to surrendering to the Tasman Sea. His yacht, Sumatra II, was sinking and it seemed that despite the best efforts of the crew of the Singapore-flagged MV Scarlett Lucy, the raging waves would not allow his rescue.

But Fanifau, who descended the rope without a harness or any safety gear, clenched Jerry with his arms and legs as other crewmen at last hauled them in.

Fanifau told the international audience of 750 in London, "I had no idea that it would come to this when I climbed down the side of our ship to give Dr. Jerome a helping hand. I just acted instinctively, like anyone else, and I would do the same all over again if I had the chance."

Jerry said Monday the two of them now are friends for life. Seaman Fanifau figures prominently in the book that's banging about inside Jerry's head and just needs to be hauled onto paper.