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

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

Benoit Bourguet, 47, was in a single-man rowing vessel named the City of Liverpool, the Coast Guard said. Bourguet, a Belgium citizen, was competing in the World’s Toughest Row Race, which spans 3,000 miles from Spain to Antigua. His boat was reportedly capsized by “two rogue waves,” forcing him to deploy a life raft. He was about 1,275 miles east of Puerto Rico. 

Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector San Juan Command Center in Puerto Rico received two emergency distress alerts overnight Wednesday. The first, recorded around 2 a.m., came from the City of Liverpool. The second came from a personal beacon device in the same location. The Coast Guard determined that the vessel had been part of the race and reached out to race organizers, who said they had sent Bourguet several messages but not received a response. Another team in the race also could not contact Bourguet. 

A tanker called the Horten was traveling about 110 miles from the distress signal. The Coast Guard issued an Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue callout to the tanker. These callouts are used by search and rescue agencies around the world to assist people who are in distress at sea, according to the Coast Guard.   

The tanker, traveling from Germany to Guyana, diverted off-course. It took the ship over 12 hours to reach the distress signal’s position, the Coast Guard said. During that time, Coast Guard officers remained in contact with the crew. 

Finally, the Horten arrived in the vicinity of the distress signal and spotted Bourguet’s life raft. They were able to use a life ring to safely bring him aboard the tanker. Photos from 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’s crew and race coordinators would arrange from Bourguet to be transferred from the tanker “at a later time,” according to the Coast Guard. No other vessels in the World’s Toughest Row Race have been reported to be in distress, 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 managing company of the Horten, said it was “immensely proud of our crew, whose professionalism, exemplary display of good seamanship in challenging circumstances and close coordination with the United States Coast Guard, helped save a life.”