US coastguards scramble to stricken yacht
US coastguards scramble to stricken yacht
Mon Apr 2 2012
https://teakdoor.com/images/smilies1/You_Rock_Emoticon.gif
The 'Geraldton, Western Australia' yacht earlier this month.
(AAP)
A monstrous, foaming wave crashes over the Australian yacht, throwing the crew off their feet and disabling the vessel.
Video on board the "Geraldton Western Australia" has captured the harrowing moment the 68-foot yacht was struck by the wave during severe weather as it sailed 640km off the Californian coast during a round-the-world race.
The yacht lost its steering wheel and some communications equipment and crew members left nursing suspected broken ribs required medical attention from trained colleagues.
Two of the sailors were rescued by the US coast guard while the two other injured crew members remained on board.
The Geraldton is one of 10 similar boats taking part in the Clipper Round the World yacht race.
The injured crew members sustained suspected broken ribs and were being treated by medically-trained colleagues on the craft, one of 10 similar boats taking part in the Clipper Round the World yacht race.
A long-range HC-130 Hercules aircraft was able to drop medical supplies late Saturday, but an attempt to lower rescuers was thwarted because of the weather, and the aircraft had to return to shore, a US Coast Guard statement said.
On Sunday, a Coast Guard cutter was dispatched with a helipad and chopper to link up with the stricken yacht and possibly airlift one or more of the injured.
The yacht, which the Coast Guard says has 13 people on board, is sailing under secondary steering toward San Francisco. A container ship was also diverted to reach them if necessary.
In comments posted on the race's website, South African skipper Juan Coetzer said the boat was hit by a massive wave at dawn Saturday.
"We were racing along in 40-60 knot gusts. The sea was alive with rage. We were making good speed ... Then at our watch change, just before the sun came up, a monstrous foaming swell broke over our stern," he said.
"Mark Burkes was on the helm at the time. The water had so much force in it that it pushed Mark into the helm, snapping the pedestal clean off. We had no steering and crew were falling all over the boat."
The injured Britons were Jane Hitchens, 50, from Kent with suspected broken ribs, and 47-year-old Burkes from Worcestershire with a back injury — although this was less serious than initially thought.
Queensland, Australia farmer Max Wilson, 62, has two suspected cracked or broken ribs, while Serbian-Croat Nik Brbora, a 28-year-old software engineer who lives in London, has a possible pelvic sprain, organisers said.
"The rest of the crew are uninjured but shaken by the incident. All crew next of kin have been informed," they said in a statement.
The yacht was on the latest leg of the round-the-world race, sailing from Qingdao, China to San Francisco. The next leg should take race participants to New York, via the Panama Canal, the Coast Guard said.
Six of the 10 boats competing have now arrived in San Francisco, while three others were expected to arrive within 24 hours, said race organizers, as the stricken yacht limped toward land.
news.ninemsn.com.au
Vid @ link : US coastguards scramble to stricken yacht
.
