Thor-Magni

Three yachts got in distress during the Ostar/Twostar race across the Atlantic 1600 kilometers off New Foundland in a storm with 60 knots wind and wave heights of 10-15 meters on June 9, 2017. Three yachts activated the EPIRB, and the Canadian Coastguard launched an SAR operation. Rescuers faced challenging conditions during the mission on June 11, but with support in the skies from the Royal Canadian Air Force as well as British and Portuguese aircraft, nearby vessels came to the sailors' aid and brought everyone to safety. Mervyn Wheatley lost the Formosa 42 “Tamarind” due to severe damage, but was rescued by the “Queen Mary 2”. The waves smashed a porthole of the 38-ft-yacht, causing water ingress and steering loss. The single hand sailor was taken aboard the cruise ship after fighting the flooding for hours, and carried on to Halifax. The Dutch sailors Wytse Bouma and Jaap Barendregt suffered a broken mast on the Sun Fast 37 “Happy” and were saved by the tug “Alp Forward”. The Bulgarann sailors Mihail Kopanov and Dian Zaykov were rescued by the “Thor Magni” just before their Luffe 37 “Furia” sank. The other ships tried to reach safe waters. Peter Crowther aboard the Swan 38 “Suomi Kudu” turned around with sail trouble, and Keith Walton aboard the Najad 490 “Harmonii” tried to reach the Azores with engine power after damage to the yacht's rigg. Reports with photos: http://segelreporter.com/regatta/offshore/ostar-rettung-queen-mary-2-fischt-segler-auf-roettgering-kaempft-sich-durch-sturm/ http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-devon-40239586 http://infotel.ca/newsitem/all-crew-aboard-distressed-ships-in-transatlantic-race-safe/it43313#.WT16Q2ikLIU http://www.aftonbladet.se/nyheter/a/1lQge/svenska-rebecka-mitt-i-havsdrama-nar-segelbat-forliste