Rower on 3,000-mile race rescued in the dead of night hours after capsizing in the Atlantic

The Coast Guard and a tanker crew rescued a rower whose boat capsized while competing in a 3,000-mile race across the Atlantic, the agency said in a news release. He reported that he was in danger for approximately 24 hours.

Benoit Bourguet, 47, was on a one-man rowboat called the City of Liverpool, the Coast Guard said. Bourguet, a Belgian citizen, was competing in the world’s toughest rowing race, which stretches 3,000 miles from Spain to Antigua. His boat was reportedly capsized by “two rogue waves”, forcing him to deploy a life raft. It was about 1,275 miles east of Puerto Rico.

Observers at the Coast Guard Sector San Juan Command Center in Puerto Rico received two emergency alerts overnight Wednesday. The first, recorded around 2 in the morning, came from the city of Liverpool. The second came from a personal beacon device at the same location. The Coast Guard determined that the boat had been part of the regatta and contacted the regatta organizers, who said they had sent Bourguet several messages but received no response. Another team in the race was also unable to contact Bourguet.

A tanker named Horten was traveling about 110 miles from the distress signal. The Coast Guard issued a mutual assistance vessel automated rescue call to the tanker. These calls are used by search and rescue agencies around the world to help people in distress at sea, according to the Coast Guard.

The tanker, which was traveling from Germany to Guyana, veered off course. It took more than 12 hours for the ship to reach the distress signal position, the Coast Guard said. During that time, Coast Guard agents remained in contact with the crew.

Finally, the Horten arrived near the distress signal and saw Bourguet’s life raft. They were able to use a life preserver to get him safely aboard the tanker. Photos of the rescue show Bourguet’s orange life raft with his boat tied to it.

Bourguet was “dehydrated but otherwise in good health,” the Coast Guard said.

The Horten crew and race coordinators would arrange for it to be transferred from the tanker “at a later date” from Bourguet, according to the Coast Guard. No other boats in the world’s toughest rowing race have been reported to be in danger, the agency said.

The Coast Guard said the incident served as a reminder of the importance of having a functional personal distress beacon that is properly registered with nautical authorities. Zodiac Maritime, the Horten’s management company, said it was “immensely proud of our crew, whose professionalism, exemplary demonstration of good navigation in difficult circumstances and close coordination with the United States Coast Guard, helped save a life.”

Earlier this month, the Coast Guard said a surfer missing for more than 24 hours was rescued alive from a reef in Puerto Rico.