( CNN ) -- For four days , an American sea captain and four Somali pirates rode the waves of the Indian Ocean in an enclosed lifeboat , far out of sight of most of the world . Capt . Richard Phillips , right , stands with U.S. Navy Cmdr . Frank Castellano after Phillips ' rescue Sunday . But for those four days , they were on the minds of people around the globe , from the captain 's hometown in Vermont , to the White House , to port cities and anywhere that families send their loved ones off to sea . `` I actually was more concerned for his family , '' said Adm. Rick Gurnon , head of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy , where Capt . Richard Phillips had trained . `` I was pretty sure he would be OK , '' Gurnon said of Phillips , adding , `` as a captain at sea , in a lifeboat , he was in an environment he was comfortable with even if he was sharing it with four armed Somali pirates . `` I was more worried for his family . They 've been going through hell since Wednesday . This is truly a joyous day for them . '' Watch Gurnon praise Phillips ' courage , professionalism » . The waiting ended Sunday with news that U.S. Navy snipers had shot and killed three of Phillips ' captors , with the fourth pirate in custody onboard the nearby USS Bainbridge , and that Phillips had been rescued uninjured . The expressions of relief and praise flowed . Watch how SEALs took down pirates » . `` I share the country 's admiration for the bravery of Capt . Phillips and his selfless concern for his crew , '' President Obama said . `` His courage is a model for all Americans . '' Phillips offered himself as a hostage after the pirates stormed the U.S.-flagged cargo ship Maersk Alabama on Wednesday morning , according to Maersk Line Limited , which owns the ship . The pirates eventually left the Alabama with Phillips that day aboard the lifeboat , where they would stay for four days . In Phillips ' hometown of Underhill , Vermont , Maersk spokeswoman Alison McColl said Phillips ' wife , Andrea , had spoken to her husband by phone after his rescue . `` She was laughing while she was on the phone with him , '' McColl told reporters . `` She was saying his trademark sense of humor was still very much intact , and he 's in great spirits . If you guys could have seen her light up when she talked to him , it was really remarkable . '' McColl said Andrea Phillips and her family `` have felt a tremendous amount of support from the entire nation . '' Watch statement from Andrea Phillips » . `` The thoughts , the prayers , the sentiments , the support you 've shown has really helped them endure this very difficult situation , '' McColl said . Still speaking for the captain 's wife , McColl added : `` She believes she can feel it , and she believes that her husband felt it out there in the middle of the ocean . So thanks to the entire nation , the local community , the state of Vermont , for all your help there . '' Phillips was being praised for his apparent willingness to put his own life in jeopardy to secure the release of his crew and his ship . But Gurnon , who described the captain as `` the good shepherd who willingly exchanged his life for the lives of his flock , '' cautioned that the end of one hostage situation should not be taken as the end of the growing problem of piracy , especially with scores of other lives in peril from pirates who are holding ships and crews off the expansive Somali coast . `` While this is a great day for Massachusetts Maritime Academy and for all of our alumni and all mariners around the world , we still have more than 200 men and women held hostage in Somalia , '' Gurnon said . `` We should not let the spotlights , the TV cameras , the focus of the world be removed from that problem , '' he said .
Captain 's family had been `` going through hell , '' head of maritime academy says . The captain was a member of the elite Navy SEALs who were sent to rescue Foley and other hostages in Libya last year. Richard Phillips , rescued from pirates Sunday , had been trained at academy . `` I was pretty sure he would be OK , '' academy leader says . Wife talked to , laughed with Phillips on phone after rescue , spokeswoman says .