Capsized adventurer plucked from sea by cruise ship
A young Australian rower stranded on the hull of his capsized boat was plucked from the middle of the Pacific by a cruise ship yesterday.
It was the second distress call attended by the Auckland-based P&O vessel, the Pacific Explorer, in as many weeks.
Tom Mahuta Robinson, 24, from Brisbane, was on a mission to be the youngest person to row solo across the Pacific. But on Thursday afternoon, the endurance rower had the hatch open to the cabin on his boat Maima, when he was hit by a rogue wave and his 7-metre craft capsized.
Robinson sent out a distress signal shortly before 9pm and the Pacific Explorer responded to the mayday call, 10 hours north of Noumea.
The French Navy in New Caledonia also provided assistance and aerial search for the vessel in distress.
A spokesperson for cruise operator Carnival Australia said the Explorer was on a nine-day roundtrip voyage from Auckland, carrying 2000 guests, and diverted north of its course from New Caledonia to Vanuatu to reach Robinson just before 7am yesterday. Robinson was found on the upturned hull of the boat, with little clothing and his locator beacon, suffering from sunburn and dehydration.
Cruise passengers said the rower was lucky to be alive.
“[It was] quite surreal seeing someone rescued so far out to sea,” said passenger Jason Ballantyne.
Robinson was yesterday in good spirits, safely aboard the Explorer, and in a statement issued via Carnival Australia, thanked the crew who rescued him.
“I was treated with the utmost courtesy and kindness by the medical staff. Many, many thanks to P&O for everything they have done for me,” he said.
Robinson was on the final leg of his year-long adventure to row from South America, back home to Brisbane. The young Australian rower set off from Lima, Peru, in July 2022 and had recently called into Luganville, on Vanuatu, after a 70-day stint at sea.
The cruise line also praised the rescue work of the captain and his crew.
“We’d like to take this opportunity to thank our crew, led by Captain Alan Nixon, for their efforts to once again rescue a fellow mariner in distress, as well as our guests on board for their understanding,” said the spokesperson for Carnival Australia.
Cruise guests were relieved to hear the sailor was safe but many wanted to know if there would be compensation, having missed two ports of call. The ship has now resumed sailing to Auckland and is due to arrive on Monday.
It was the second distress call the vessel had attended in recent weeks.
On September 24, during a previous sailing, passengers were told they were diverting to a distress signal of a New Zealand-registered pleasure yacht, south of Fiji.
The skipper of the 12m sailboat the Second Life, 73-year-old Clive Nothling of Russell, had been killed by the boom of the small vessel, but two crew were rescued from the immobilised sailboat with assistance from the Fijian Navy.