A British Royal Air Force rowing team have been rescued bythe crew of the 31,872-dwt Hedvig Bulker (built 2011), and brought back to dryland.
The rescue some 46 days into the 2,982 mile Talisker WhiskyAtlantic Challenge race from Spainto Antigua came after the rudder of the four person-team’s boat broke some 1,560miles northeast of San Juan, Puerto Rico.
After exhausting all efforts to fix it in heavy seas,running low on food and water, and near to losing all electronics, the team ofJane McIntosh, Warren Burns, Howard Raw and Elizabeth Beauchamp called for helpon their satellite phone.
The Lauritzen Bulkers vessel some 69 miles away wascontacted by the US Coast Guard's Atlantic Area Rescue Coordination Center,but the rowers’ ordeal was not over yet. Heavy sea conditions meant it took nineattempts over five hours before they could be hoisted onto the ship in a cargonet.
