Two Britons rescued in Indian Ocean
Published: September 29, 2004
Two British yachtsmen sailing between Australia and Mauritius have been rescued from their sinking sloop after it was battered by heavy seas and strong winds in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
Australian maritime officials said the rescue was one of the most remote they had ever been involved in, with the two men rescued 3,471 km (2,157 miles) off the west Australian coast.
“It was an extremely long way out. It was probably in the top three rescues for remoteness, almost halfway across the Indian Ocean,” said Ben Mitchell from the Australian Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre in Canberra.
Terence Dwight, 57, and Robert Jones, 45, had struggled to keep their 10-m (30-ft) timber sloop Latitude afloat since Tuesday night after it lost a rudder in heavy seas.
“There were very heavy seas and strong winds. They had lost their rudder and were taking on water,” Mitchell said. “In the process of losing their rudder I imagine they had damaged their hull.”
The men activated an emergency beacon at about 9 p.m. Sydney time on Tuesday (noon British time) but could not be contacted via their satellite communications, so Australian maritime rescue officials sent the Panamanian-registered container ship MSC Maria to the area.
A U.S. surveillance aircraft from the Indian Ocean military base of Diego Garcia flew over until the men were picked up, some 1,700 km (1,060 miles) west of Australia’s remote Cocos Islands.
Mitchell said the two men were well and were now being taken to Indonesia.
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