Canada rescues sailors in rough transatlantic seas

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Ont.

Canada rescued those aboard three sailboats Saturday that were hit with hurricane-force winds and waves in the Atlantic Ocean about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) off the coast of Newfoundland.

Five people on the boats, participating in a transatlantic race from the U.K. to Rhode Island, sent distress signals early Friday and Canada dispatched a number of ships and aircraft into the teeth of 52-foot (16-meter) high waves and “winds howling up to 130 kilometers [80 miles] per hour,” said Capt. Marc Saucier of the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

None of the five were seriously injured and suffered only cuts and bruises.

“It’s a great day because five people in the end were rescued from a pretty dire situation,” Saucier told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC). “They’re all safe, they’re all going to be able to get home to their families and loved ones.”

Also involved in the rescue was the cruise liner the Queen Mary 2. The ship’s crew picked up a British sailor from a battered vessel, the Toronto Star reported.

Yet another vessel that had starting taking on water had its two crew rescued by a research ship and was headed into St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Maj. Rhonda Stevens of the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre said the rescuers braved challenging conditions, but everyone, including aircraft from the Royal Canadian Air Force, as well as British and Portuguese aircraft, pitched in.

“When people are in distress, everybody willingly comes to help,” Stevens told the Star. “Rescuers showed their heroism and their passion for working on the sea and their skills, and they were able to save the lives of those people that were in distress.”