It started out as a routine visit to the Philippines for the 200 Pearl Harbor sailors assigned to the frigate USS Reuben James.

But it ended up as a rescue mission when the 453-foot warship came to the aid of two fishermen near Mindanao Feb. 13 after their small outboard died, leaving them to drift aided only by a makeshift sail.

Cmdr. Dave Miller, skipper of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, talked about the operations last week during a layover in East Timor.

“;They (fishermen) were waving to us,”; said Miller during a telephone interview, “;and we pulled close to them.”;

Miller described the vessel as a green canoe with two outriggers powered by a small outboard motor. It was called Four Brothers.

The two fishermen had left the Mindanao port of San Francisco the previous day but ran into trouble 26 miles off the coast when their outboard died.

Miller said the crew of the Reuben James brought the canoe on board using a sling.

“;My crew found that the spark plug had a crack,”; Miller added. “;We soldered the spark plug and retied the outriggers and made sure they had enough fuel.”;

The frigate's crew also provided water and food to help the fishermen return to San Francisco. The ship also coordinated with a Philippine coast guard patrol boat, which escorted the canoe home.

During their visit to East Timor, the crew of the Reuben James also was involved in several community relations projects in Dili, Miller added, including visits to local orphanages and a project with a Navy construction battalion. The Pearl Harbor sailors passed out toys at the two orphanages as part of Project Handclasp, the Navy's worldwide outreach program in which sailors distribute materials donated by American citizens, companies and charitable organizations.

The guided-missile frigate left Pearl Harbor on a routine deployment to the western Pacific on Jan. 15.

Before arriving in the Philippines, the Reuben James assisted the Coast Guard's ongoing effort to curb illegal fishing in the various exclusive economic zones in the western and central Pacific from Jan. 15 to 19.

“;The idea is to help extend the reach of the Coast Guard,”; Miller added, “;by using our helicopters to provide photographic surveillance.”;

The first such mission took place in June when Coast Guard officers embarked aboard the Pearl Harbor-based USS Crommelin during its routine Pacific transit.