French round-the-world yachtsman Alain Delord has been rescued by cruise ship MV Orion after three days adrift in a life raft in the Southern Ocean.
THE ANTARCTIC cruise ship MV Orion has rescued stranded round-the-world solo yachtsman Alain Delord who is said to be in good health.
The captain of the Antarctic cruise ship diverted to rescue a stricken yachtsman in the remote Southern Ocean has described how passengers cheered when Alain Delord was plucked from the sea.
Mr Delord was attempting to sail solo and without assistance around the world and has been at sea since October last year. His yacht, Tchouk Tchouk Nougat, was damaged in rough weather off Tasmania on Friday.
After three days adrift on a life raft Delord, a 63-year-old French round-the-world yachtsman, was rescued by the MV Orion about 500 nautical miles southwest of Hobart on Sunday night.
The cruise ship was diverted about 1800 kilometres to his assistance and had battled deteriorating weather conditions to reach him before sunset, with fears he would have to spend a third night at sea.
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The Orion’s captain Mike Taylor said at first the vessel’s 100 passengers on their once-in-a-lifetime trip to Macquarie Island were “massively disappointed” about being diverted.
“But there was a cheer you could hear right over the ship when we pulled him in through the door,” Captain Taylor told ABC radio this morning.
Alain Delord safe aboard ship. Picture: Facebook/MV Orion
They were the first people Mr Delord had seen in three months.
Captain Taylor said the ship was about 680 miles south of Mr Delord when he was contacted by the Rescue Coordination Centre (RCC) in Canberra.
“(The RCC) and called us and said we’re Johnny on the spot pretty much,” he said.
“It took us a full 53 hours to get from where we were to him.”
He said the conditions in which Mr Delord was rescued, with big swells and high winds, were as extreme as he had experienced and that without the help of the RCC the Orion would never have found him.
“It was unbelievable how difficult he was to see,” he said.
On board the Orion, Tasmanian yachtsman and expedition leader Don McIntyre said the rescue mission started about 9.30pm and took just 25 minutes.
“We changed plans on the run, a lot of things didn’t quite work out the way we thought but we modified the plans very quickly,” he told The Mercury this morning.
“The zodiac (inflatable boat) went straight to the life raft and we managed to get Alain out very quickly into another raft and came back to the side gate (of the Orion) where we were able to attach a line to him and wait for the swells to work with us and then we quickly hauled him in through the side of the ship.
“He’s obviously very weak, very tired … Basically after a full check out in the hospital the doctor was very surprised at how good a condition he was in.”
A passenger on the ship who witnessed the rescue said it went “very smoothly”.
Alain Delord being recovered from his liferaft. Picture: Facebook/MV Orion
“We were about half a mile from him when we spotted the first flares but at that stage there were 3m to 4m swells so we couldn’t see the raft until we were about 20m away,” Ian Selby told 3AW radio.
“He was wrapped up in a survival suit. We expect him to meet the passengers at some point today but the first thing he did was have a glass of Australian wine.
“(The ship) performed marvellously. We were tossing about remarkably when the stabilisers were turned off for the rescue, but aside from that it was fine.”
Mr Selby said passengers on the expedition cruise were “disappointed” by the delay but they were supplied with “lots of grog” to get over their “immediate depression”.
“The trip’s duration was meant to be 20 odd days. We left on the 7th of January and were meant to return on the 25th of January. You’re in the lap of the gods so we will go to Hobart and arrive there tomorrow. At this stage they’re hoping to extend the tour and get us up the coast somewhere to see more of the Tasmanian coast.”
Alain Delord safe aboard MV Orion. Picture: Facebook/MV Orion
Captain Taylor had warned passengers the stabilisers would have to be switched off as they approached Delord’s vicinity, and urged passengers worried about the ship rolling and rocking to lie down in bed.
The crew had expected strong winds and waves of between three and seven metres (10-23 feet).
A spokeswoman for the the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said Mr Delord was getting medical attention and appeared to be in good health.
Delord, who set off at the beginning of October, abandoned his yacht Tchouk Tchouk Nougaton after the mast broke into four pieces and its hull was damaged in rough weather.
The yachtsman had received an air drop of food, water, communications equipment and a survival suit while he waited for his rescue.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said the Orion managed to find Delord just after 9.30 pm local time.
Alain Delord, the solo yachtie. Photo: Facebook
“I’m very pleased to confirm the solo sailor, who had been in a life raft in the Southern Ocean for the past three days, has been recovered by the cruise ship Orion and AMSA believes he is being taken to Hobart,” a spokeswoman said.
“He is currently receiving medical attention and early indications are that he is healthy,” the authority said.
“Weather conditions were better than expected and there was plenty of light in the area.”
The Orion was 11 days into an 18-day passenger cruise of the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic when it was drafted into the rescue. It was the only ship within 100 nautical miles to respond to AMSA’s distress call.
AMSA dropped Delord food, water, communications equipment and a safety suit on Saturday and had stayed in regular contact with him leading up to the rescue.
The experienced yachtsman was reportedly following the route of the Vendee Globe round-the-world ocean race.
Frenchman Thierry Dubois and Briton Tony Bullimore were famously rescued by the Australian navy after several days adrift in the Southern Ocean during the 1996/97 edition of the Vendee Globe.
Cruise ship picks up stranded yachtie
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