Australian navy scrambles to find paralysed solo yachtsman

AN INTERNATIONAL rescue mission was under way yesterday to find a solo yachtsman trapped on the bunk bed of his stricken boat 1,800 miles off the coast of Western Australia, after a storm broke his mast and left him paralysed.

Abhilash Tomy, an Indian naval officer, was competing in the round-theworld Golden Globe Race, which bars the use of modern technology, when his 10-metre vessel Thuriya was thrown off course in the Indian Ocean.

He is understood to have been seriously injured during the storm, as he warned in a satellite text message: “Can’t walk. Might need stretcher.”

Mr Tomy added, in a second text message to race organisers: “Can move toes. Feel numb. Can’t eat or drink. Tough 2 reach grab bag.”

Race organisers said Mr Tomy was “incapacitated on his bunk inside his boat … as far from help as you can possibly be”.

The Australian Defence Force was called in to help rescue Mr Tomy, with HMAS Ballarat dispatched from Perth to his last known location.

“The ship joins a P-8A Poseidon from the Adelaide-based Surveillance and Response Group [from the] Royal Australian Air Force, which has been deployed to Réunion Island, France, to assist in the search,” the ADF said in a statement. “These ADF assets are well suited to undertake maritime searchand-rescue missions during times of extreme weather. Defence support is being provided following a request from the Australian Joint Rescue Coordination Centre.”

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said a number of aircraft had reported sightings of Mr Tomy’s demasted yacht.

The Golden Globe Race began at Les Sables-d’olonne in France on July 1. Competitors sail single-handed around the world before returning to the same port.

Participants must use yachts similar to the one sailed by Sir Robin Knoxjohnston during his round-the-world adventure in 1968-1969, when he became the first person to perform a single-handed, non-stop circumnavigation of the globe. They are also banned from using modern technology such as GPS and mobile phones.

A French fisheries patrol vessel is also heading towards Mr Tomy and may arrive today, according to reports.