Sailing-Ocean rescue drama as sailor injured deep into RORC Transatlantic Race

Jan 19 : A crew member aboard the German yacht Walross 4 was knocked unconscious in an onboard accident deep in the Atlantic Ocean during the RORC Transatlantic Race, prompting a coordinated mid-ocean rescue, race organisers said.

The Nissen 56, owned by Berlin-based ASV, was around 1,500 nautical miles into the 3,000-mile crossing from Lanzarote to Antigua when the incident occurred. The Royal Ocean Racing Club alerted emergency authorities on Monday. Assuming responsibility for the response was the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Ponta Delgada, on the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores.

A nearby commercial vessel was diverted and successfully recovered the injured crew member from Walross 4 in open-ocean conditions. The ship is now heading toward the Cape Verde Islands, where a helicopter evacuation to the Azores is planned when weather conditions allow.

The crew member’s next of kin has been informed. Race officials said they remain in contact with Walross 4 and the ASV yacht club in Germany.

Walross 4 is one of 21 yachts competing in the 12th edition of the race, which is sailed under World Sailing Offshore Special Regulations, Category 1 — the sport’s most demanding safety standard.

The German boat is skippered by Matthias Kahnt, and being sailed by a novice crew drawn from Berlin’s Akademischer Segler-Verein, a German sailing club focused on connecting students with offshore sailing. 

The fleet was widely spread across the Atlantic at the time of the incident. Among those already finished was Jason Carroll’s MOD70 trimaran Argo, which secured multihull line honours after completing the crossing in under five days.

Monohull line honours were claimed on Sunday by the Baltic 111 Raven, which crossed the finish line at