Yesterday we got the news that Oar Northwest’s journey from Senegal to Miami, FL came to a sudden and premature end. When they were about 400 miles from Puerto Rico, a rogue wave capsized the boat, and it was unable to right itself. The crew was able to activate their distress signal and get into a life raft. The US Coast Guard located them and a civilian vessel pulled them from the water. By now they should have their feet on dry land in Puerto Rico.
Local news station KING5 broadcast a story about the event, and you can also see the rescue statement at the Oar Northwest blog.
It’s a harrowing reminder of just how dangerous the ocean is, and we are incredibly thankful that all of the safety precautions in place worked as planned. It’s sort of like Apollo 13 in that it was a “successful failure” – they didn’t reach their destination, but the ultimate outcome was that the crew survived, the best scenario possible given the circumstances.
(Oar NW Guys – we are glad you’re safe and will be home soon! When you’ve had a chance to relax and things have settled down, hope we get a chance to see you all.)
UPDATE 4/8/13:
The guys were on the Today show this morning!
It looks like they’re still on “ocean time” because Matt Lauer kept interrupting Jordan as he was explaining what happened. I kept saying “Shut up, Matt, and let him talk!” Alas, New York time doesn’t leave much time for thoughtful storytelling. Jordan’s interview on KUOW this afternoon was much more our speed. 😉
At CWF, we believe in human power. We believe that these four young men can row across the Atlantic to raise awareness of the state of the world’s are in. We believe you care about the world’s oceans too.
Help us spread the belief. http://bit.ly/16IBa8v
Wade Luzny, CEO Executive Vice President, Canadian Wildlife Federation
It’s interesting that the boat didn’t right itself. It sounds like either the water balast isn’t enough or the boat was top heavy with all that navigation/solar panel gear.
Time for a marine archetech to re-evaluate this design, as having an upside down boat mid-ocean could be fatal.