Sailor rescued on single-handed Transatlantic crossing

[Chris Connor]

There was an article on the front page of my local paper this morning reporting the resuce of a sailor by Canadian SAR aircraft. He was rescued with minor injuries resulting from his knock down and dismasting.


I have attached the link to the story; below is the headline and first two paragraphs. It is COPYRIGHT - Halifax Chronicle Herald/Canadian Press.


Regards,

Chris


Sailor saved in daring rescue
Man, 66, said storm tossed him around yacht’s cabin like a 'washing machine’
By JENNIFER MacMILLAN The Canadian Press
Thu. Jul 24 - 5:21 AM

An American yachtsman whose vessel capsized in heavy seas whipped up by tropical storm Cristobal says he felt like he was "in a washing machine" as his boat overturned and then righted itself in the swirling storm, tossing him about the cabin.

Cyril O’Leary, 66, of Fairhaven, Mass., was plucked from the North Atlantic by a Canadian rescue helicopter about 250 kilometres southeast of Halifax late Tuesday night.

 

[higgs]

Second guessing

i know there will be many who will second guess this guy and complain about the cost of a rescue. I am happy for a happy ending and leave the second guessing to others.

 

[Ross]

Seems like he just got caught in a bad

storm. Without rescue he would have "gone missing"

 

[ron witmer]

cost of rescue???

I too am pleased with happy ending, and I often ponder the costs some attribute to these rescues. What would the rescuer's being doing if they did not have a real rescue mission? They are still being paid, the aircraft and ships have already been purchased, the training has already been paid for, they are burning the fuel whether they are rescuing or practicing... I have heard of an Force pilot who flew his fighter (F16 I think) cross country to get fresh vegetables for dinner, arranging inflight refueling, etc., all because he had to log so many hours per month (as did the refueling guys)... Having participated in many practise drills while in the Navy, my guess is that most of the rescue guys appreciate a real test of their skills. They are getting paid regardless, and they are risking their lives regardless... many deaths occur during training missions...

 

[Recess]

When I was in the Air Force

the budgets for training sorties was determined by the amount we had spent on fuel in previous months. To make sure the budget did not get cut, the pilots would practice touch and go landings all day and night at the end of the month until we had consumed the right amount of fuel so the budget would not get cut. I still see a lot of touch and go landings being done at the end of the month at the Air Base here. I would rather see these guys burning that fuel and running up the maintenance hours performing real missions.

 

[Nice N Easy]

Gettting hours

Way back in the late 50's, you had to put in so many hours flight time per month. I was on a ground crew, but got flight pay, and to keep the flight pay, I had to log X hours per month. Sometimes I would have to bum a ride to somewhere, just to get my hours. So, the fuel burn for a rescue mission, would be a very small amount compared to the fuel they burn for practice and to get their flight hours.

 

[higgs]

Boating industry

Boaters support an industry that employs many which a country benefits from. The flip side of that coin is that sometimes boaters get in trouble and need to be rescued. I doubt rescue costs are greater than the monetary benefits of the industry.

 

[James]

The sailor was experienced

Read this and was glad to hear of the happy ending.

I agree with the posts about the rescuer's having an opportunity to practice their skills - I'm sure they loved it.

Re the sailor - His name is Cyril and he hails from Fairhaven MA. Turns out a good friend of mine anf Cyril is an experienced single-hander. So it goes to show that even the expereinced sometimes run into the wall.

The weather around Barrington RI this week has shown that things are not always what you expect and the weather heeds no man. Who would have thought of Tornado's in RI.

http://www.necn.com/Boston/Weather/Funnel-clouds-spotted-in-Rhode-Island/1216862710.html

Great thing is it all worked out and he will get to share more time with his grandkids.

Here is the text of an e-mail I received ...

**********************
I sailed this boat to Bermuda twice, raced it in the Marion/Bermuda race twice. The captain, Cyril has sailed to Europe and has single handed to Bermuda. Got caught in a blow.

************************

Check out the article at

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20080723/cyril_rescue_080723/20080723?hub=Canada&s_name

May we all be so lucky when misfortune strikes.

James

 

[Joe Mullee]

What Kind Of Boat

Just curious if anyone knows anything about the boat.

JM

 

[sailorKevan]

any true search and rescue person would not

be standing around debateing the storm or who's at fault-they'd be asking what type of rescue unit are we taking-who's in charge and when do we leave!