Sailors to be picked up by Navy ship after rescue from ‘one of the most remote spots on the planet’
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Indian Naval officer Abhilash Tomy and a second solo sailor will undergo medical assessment before being collected by a Royal Australian Navy vessel after they were rescued from one of the most remote locations on the planet.
The men had been sailing in the around-the-world Golden Globe race when their yachts were damaged in rough seas in the remote south-western Indian Ocean on Friday, 1,860 nautical miles (3,400 kilometres) west of Perth.
Tomy, 39, suffered a severe back injury which left him bedridden in his damaged 10-metre vessel Thuriya after it rolled during a storm, snapping both masts.
External Link: Rescue of commander Abhilash Tomy, shot from Indian Navy P-81
He managed to contact race organisers and activate an EPIRB which triggered an urgent air and water search involving the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), along with Indian and French authorities.
Also taking up the call to assist the injured Indian sailor was fellow race competitor, Irishman Gregor McGuckin, whose vessel was similarly damaged on Friday.
"He actually got within a couple of nautical miles of Tomy's position," AMSA response centre manager Alan Lloyd said.
"His vessel had lost both of its main sails as well and was under jury rig, so it was an excellent piece of seamanship for him to proceed to Tomy and provide assistance."
AMSA has described the area where the sailors became stranded as "one of the most remote areas on the planet".
'I just can't wait to get out of it'
Recordings of a satellite phone call between McGuckin and race organisers on Friday have emerged, describing the horrendous condition the sailors faced.
His spirits were high during the call, but he told organisers the ferocity of the storm was testing.
"It's f**king horrendous, the seas are just massive. I don't know how strong the wind was but you could barely move, it's just all over the place," McGuckin said.
"The Indian Ocean is just going on forever, it's just so unpredictable and there's nothing pleasant about it. I just can't wait to get out of it.
"I was on deck and only hand steering for the most part, and [had] just little stints down below when it calms down a little, so I'm knackered."
McGurkin informed organisers his mast had been damaged but said he was making do with repairs, and asked if they could avoid telling his friends and family until the storm had passed.
"Can you do me a favour? Will you postpone putting this out just until this has all blown through?" he asked.
"I don't want to worry my mum and my girlfriend and everyone because they'll just be freaking out."
French vessel rescued sailors hours apart
Mr Lloyd said it was fortunate the French fisheries patrol vessel, Osiris, arrived at the same time and was able to rescue McGuckin himself a few hours after Tomy was retrieved from his yacht.
External Link: Tweet President of India re Tomy rescue
"Any transfer at sea is quite difficult, the seas at this stage had abated and the imagery that AMSA has indicates that it was reasonably good conditions to undertake the transfer," he said.
The men are reported to be conscious and well and in stable conditions.
The Osiris is taking them to Ile Amsterdam, a small French Territory in the southern Indian Ocean midway between Madagascar and Australia.
Their medical assessments will be undertaken by a doctor on the island's research station, while the Royal Australian Navy frigate, HMAS Ballarat, sails for the island to collect the men and return to Australia.
The Ballarat is expected to arrive at the island in coming days.
Indian President Ram Nath Kovind took to social media to thank French and Australian authorities for their assistance in Tomy's rescue.
Tomy, who was the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe solo in 2013, was lying third in the race before Friday's storm.
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