Coast guard chief Adm. Wilfredo Tamayo said the 38-foot (11-meter) catamaran named The Pineapple left Jan. 6 for Cebu Island in the central Philippines.

Tamayo said the US Coast Guard requested a search and rescue operation although it is not clear if the sailboat had reached Philippine waters.

Coast guard spokesman Cmdr. Armand Balilo says four men and a woman are aboard the sailboat, including a Filipino-American in the US Air Force.

There has been no communication with the boat.