This is what we would have termed during my Coast Guard time here as a "manifestly unsafe voyage", for the most part.  
Hint:  this isn't the first time in the last year that this vessel and it's two crew have had to be "rescued" by the Coast Guard, or other mariner.
I hope that if they even consider putting out on a cross Pacific voyage, they invest a reasonable amount beforehand in an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB - available at West Marine for a few hundred dollars), properly register it and learn how to use it in an emergency.  A satellite phone or HF radio would also be a good - though a little more pricey, idea.
Cell phone calls or VHF radio call outs in the middle of the open ocean aren't distress calls, they are a waste of precious battery power.    With today's technology, there is really no reason to operate like this.  It puts them and potential rescuers at needless risk. 
Hopefully this group stays ashore for a while!