Officials at Sector Guam received notification on Tuesday morning about a ship that was missing on its way to the island of Weno in Micronesia.

Three men aboard a 19-ft skiff set off for a short sailing trip into the south Pacific. The weather grew rough, and the tiny ship was tossed into the sea on Monday night. Stranded in the dark and their ship lost far from ground, the men could only swim.

The three castaways were rescued on Thursday after a U.S Navy aircraft spotted the word ‘help’ spelled out with palm leaves on the beach of a remote Pacific Island, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. This island lies about 2,600 miles southwest of Honolulu. Their small vessel had been swamped by a large wave and the sailors were forced to swim two miles to shore at night, Chief Petty Officer Sara Mooer, a spokesperson for the Coast Guard, told CNN.

"Our combined efforts coupled with the willingness of many different resources to come together and help, led to the successful rescue of these three men in a very remote part of the Pacific," said Lt. William White, Sector Guam public affairs officer.

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