HONOLULU, HI (NBC) -- A 9-year-old boy, his father and uncle are back on dry land after being rescued when their boat sank several miles off the coast of Hawaii.

The Coast Guard requested a cargo ship that was in the area rescue the three Canadians when their sailboat became disabled.

While attempting to pick up the passengers, the cargo ship collided with the sailboat, sending all three into the water.

"20-25 foot seas, winds were blowing 40 knots, gusting to 55 knots. They were terrible conditions," recalled freighter captain James Kelleher.

Those conditions caused the 38-foot sailboat's mast to break and engine to overheat during a journey from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico to Hilo, Hawaii.

Crew members were able to rescue Mitchell James quickly, but it took another 50 minutes to manuever through the rough conditions to rescue the father and son, Bradley and West James.

The family arrived in Honolulu early Thursday morning on a much bigger ship than they expected.

Horizon, the company that owns the container ship, is putting the the trio up in a Honolulu hotel.