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Rescue of French sailor - dramatic images

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5:33 AM Wed 16 Dec 2009 GMT


Can you imagine yourself ever in this situation? These dramatic images were captured by the crew of a HC-130J Hercules from Elizabeth City in North Carolina, USA. The rescue - and the images - are a result of the cooperative effort that accompanies so many modern rescues.

Last Sunday night, the crew was called and flew to the scene to locate a French sailing yacht which had called distress 600 miles north east of Bermuda, reaching the yacht just after midnight.

They provided communications and support for the rescue, which was effected by the ship the Wellington Star.

However,in the meantime, it was the Portsmouth Fifth District rescue coordinators that guided the Wellington Star to the scene. How did the Wellington Star know that there was a lone French sailor wanting a rescue?

Why it was AMVER, the Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue System,that notified authorities that the Wellington Star was the closest participating ship able to give assistance. Ships participate in the AMVER system voluntarily.

As can be seen in the images, the yacht has been dismasted and only the one solo sailor is visible on deck. In the huge seas and high wind the cameraman has trouble keeping the yacht and ship in sight, but you can see crewmen working on the deck of the ship to retrieve the sailor - the rescue was successful.

Wellington Star in daylight - .. .


About AMVER:
The Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue System, sponsored by the United States Coast Guard, is a unique, computer-based, and voluntary global ship reporting system used worldwide by search and rescue authorities to arrange for assistance to persons in distress at sea.

With Amver, rescue coordinators can identify participating ships in the area of distress and divert the best-suited ship or ships to respond.

Amver's mission is to quickly provide search and rescue authorities, on demand, accurate information on the positions and characteristics of vessels near a reported distress.




by George Crocker, Eye Witness News/Sail-World.




Click on thumbnails to enlarge and find more photos:

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