Sailor rescued from yacht stranded off Australia coast

A solo Indian sailor adrift thousands of kilometres from dry land with a serious back injury was safely rescued from his stricken yacht yesterday after an international effort.
Abhilash Tomy, a competitor in the Golden Globe round-the-world race, was badly injured during a storm that damaged his vessel and put its mast out of action in the Indian Ocean on Friday.
Adrift some 3,500km from western Australia, the 39-year-old navy commander had been confined to his bunk and unable to move.
But Indian and Australian officials said a French fisheries patrol vessel involved in the international rescue mission had found the sailor “in a stable condition”.
“A sense of relief to know that naval officer @abhilashtomy is rescued by the French fishing vessel. He’s conscious and doing okay,” Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman posted on Twitter.
The French vessel Osiris reached Tomy’s yacht at 0530 GMT as Australian and Indian P8 Poseidon aircraft kept watch from above, race organisers said.
The French crew boarded Tomy’s yacht Thuriya using inflatable boats and administered first aid.
The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said Tomy would be transferred to a nearby Indian Ocean island, Ile Amsterdam, for medical treatment.
An Indian naval ship would later transfer Tomy to Mauritius, according to Sitharaman.
Rescuers had been unable to make direct contact with Tomy as his main satellite phone was damaged, and his injury meant he was unable to reach a second satellite phone or his handheld VHF radio.
Fears had been growing for Tomy’s safety as conditions can be treacherous, with strong winds and high waves buffeting the yacht and rescue vessels.
His yacht had been rolled 360 degrees during a “vicious” storm and dismasted, race organisers said yesterday. AMSA search and rescue mission co-ordinator Phil Gaden said equipment was hanging from the yacht.
Although it was upright and floating, it was at the mercy of the sea and could have been compromised at any moment.
As the days wore by, his family grew increasingly concerned for the experienced yachtsman.
“Abhilash has done long voyages before, but we remained in touch through satellite phones and internet chats,” his wife Urmi told the Business Standard newspaper before his rescue.
“The separation on this voyage has been tough. But all that matters now is to rescue him unharmed.”
His father V C Tomy heaved a sigh of relief as he heard about his son’s rescue.
“What I can say is he is mentally stable. Now with this news, we are relieved 75%. We all were tense for the past three days...,” Tomy, who retired as a Lieutenant Commander in the Indian Navy, the same rank as that of his son, told reporters.
“This is basically an adventure and in such events it’s a 50:50 chance and he and we were well aware of this. He will come out of it,” said the retired naval commander.
The Golden Globe Race involves a gruelling 30,000-mile solo circumnavigation of the globe in yachts similar to those used in the first race 50 years ago, with no modern technology allowed except the communications equipment.
Tomy’s own yacht is a replica of Robin Knox-Johnston’s Suhaili, winner of the first Golden Globe Race.