This case has been well reported. The above picture is from the South China Morning Post's report by Associated Press. A subtitle of the story states: "Andrew Taylor was thrown overboard during The Clipper Round the World Race and faced a situation that has claimed many lives in the past" that's about to set the stage and here's what happened:
Halfway between China and San Francisco, British sailor Andrew Taylor suddenly found himself floating alone in the cold, rough North Pacific.
One moment he'd been helping to change a sail aboard the 70-foot yacht Derry-Londonderry-Doire, and the next he'd fallen overboard, smashed into the rudder and was being swept away in big waves and strong wind.
For a while he was within sight of the sloop, which is competing in The Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
Then he wasn't.
"I never contemplated I would die. I did consider whether the boat would find me," the 46-year-old Taylor said in an interview from the boat via satellite phone.
About one hour, 40 minutes after falling in just past the International Date Line on Monday, Taylor was pulled out by his crewmates. He was treated for hypothermia and his leg was put in a splint. He'll have X-rays after the boat arrives in San Francisco on either April 11 or 12.
Taylor, a catering manager from London, said he never panicked and never gave up hope of being rescued because he knew his fellow crew members were well trained for a man-overboard emergency. "I just want to express my gratitude to the team for their work and effort," said Taylor, who had never set foot aboard a boat before he began training for this race in 2012. "It was a traumatic experience for everyone, for the crew as well as for me in the water."
This is a quite a good story telling piece. Being a happy ending it might even be enjoyable to read. But of course for those who involved it was certainly not a picnic out there. Still by falling overboard it is gratifying to hear him saying that he was never contemplated that he would die. Not everyone can have that kind of bold bravery but it will be great help if you have it!
May be because of the happy ending, the article was written in a relaxing style. Here's some further details:
Before he fell overboard, Taylor was on the foredeck helping skipper Sean McCarter with a sail change.
They were having some trouble so Taylor started to head back to get a pair of pliers. McCarter was able to unhook the sail when the boat suddenly leaned heavily downwind.
"One second my feet were on the boat, the next second my head was in the water," Taylor said. "It happened so very, very quickly."
Taylor thought his safety harness was clipped to the boat.
McCarter said in a story posted on the race website that somewhere between going to get the pliers then not needing them, Taylor got distracted and forgot to clip on again.
McCarter hollered "man overboard" and the crew began turning the boat around. Even after the engine was started, the boat had a hard time in winds of 35 knots and waves estimated to be four to six metres high.
The crew could see Taylor about 200 metres away but he was quickly drifting.
Taylor, who was wearing a life jacket and a dry suit, said a sudden storm pushed him farther from the boat and he was having trouble with his personal locator beacon.
"It really got very nasty for a while," he said. "I got rolled over in some of the waves, like a washing machine. By the time the storm passed I didn't know where the boat was."
More than an hour after Taylor fell in the water, a crewman shouted to McCarter that his personal locator beacon had just activated.
Another crew member up the mast spotted Taylor more than 400 metres away.
"I heard voices screaming. I heard voices calling my name," Taylor said. "I lifted up my spray hood and the boat was right in front of me."I would like to add: Thanks be to God!
No comments:
Post a Comment