A Boise film crew was on a ship with a group of scientists Friday when it started taking on water 60 miles north of Oahu.

"The boat was listing to one side ... so everyone was feeling uneasy about that," said Tom Hadzor, a co-owner of Wide Eye Productions in Boise.

"The first sign of trouble for the science team came at about 1 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6., when one of the crew told several of us in the lunchroom area that the ship had sprung a leak," wrote David Cuoio, a film crew member. "I had noticed about 7 a.m. that morning that the stern was dipping unusually close to the water’s surface, but thought nothing of it."

About 400 gallons per hour poured through a baseball-sized hole in the boat's hull. The U.S. Coast Guard delivered pumps that the crew used to keep the 186-foot Kilo Moana from sinking. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Kurt Fredrickson said crew members began preparing life rafts in case they needed to abandon ship.

"We knew there was danger and we might have to jump in the water with our lifejackets," Hadzor said. But he felt safe with the Coast Guard nearby and the crew working through the night to empty the boat.

"This is a really rare thing to have happen — to have a hole that big in the hull and not know it until you're out in the middle of the ocean," Hadzor said.

Forty scientists and crew members left Wednesday for the five-day University of Hawaii Marine Center research trip, which the ordeal cut short. They returned to port in Honolulu.

"The mood was calm but somber," wrote Cuoio. "[The scientists] all invested time, money, and a big part of themselves in the work, and it was extremely unfortunate that this fluke occurrence should end their research."

Visit wideeye.tv/blog to read the filmmakers' accounts.