By
Michele Witthaus |
An attempt by two men to row across the Atlantic came to a dramatic conclusion on 14 December when their craft capsized in high waves and a Crystal Cruises ship came to their rescue.
British rower Tom Fancett and Tom Sauer, a Dutch national based in Russia, were taking part in the two-month Atlantic Challenge race as ‘TeamTom’, to raise money for the Johan Cruijff Foundation, a charity which provides education and sporting opportunities to disadvantaged children.
The two 23-year-olds had been at sea for a week en route from La Gomera to Barbados when they capsized south-west of the Canary Islands. After the emergency locator beacon on their boat was activated, Falmouth coastguard put out an alert. The Crystal Serenity, which was passing within 120 miles of the rowers on a 13-night crossing from Lisbon to Miami, was the nearest available vessel and immediately turned around to look for them. Captain Jon Økland was in charge of the ship, which sailed full speed to rescue the men, with lookouts posted throughout the night. By 6.00 am they had been found, thanks to their emergency flares, and brought on board.
After the resuce, Sauer said: “Tom and I were just changing places. The ocean was quite calm. We were in great spirits after the first eight days in the race. Suddenly our boat was rocked by an enormous wave - the size of which we’ve never seen before. Our boat was thrown over and capsized. The cabin flooded. We desperately tried to turn the boat back up again - but to no avail.” The pair managed to access the life raft and life jackets as the boat began to sink. Some 10 hours later they were rescued by the cruise liner.
The rowers will stay on board the ship until it reaches St Maarten on Sunday 18 December. President of Crystal Cruises, Gregg Michel, commented: “We are so proud of the quick reaction and skilled seamanship of our crew that enabled them to save these brave men.”