Canadian rescued after yacht found partly submerged in remote Indian Ocean

A Canadian tourist is reported to be in good health after Australian rescuers found his yacht partly submerged in a remote area of the Indian Ocean. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority said he had been travelling from Darwin, at Australia’s northern tip, to Christmas Island, an Australian territory south of Jakarta, Indonesia.

The sailor failed to check in with family in Canada twice on Sunday, prompting his brother to contact Australian authorities. Searchers found a partly submerged catamaran about 1,000 kilometres east-southeast of Christmas Island and located the man in the vessel’s dinghy, also called a tender.

An air-rescue helicopter dropped a life raft, emergency beacon, food and water before the man was brought aboard a Royal Australian Navy helicopter. AMSA’s Alex Barrell said the incident showed how quickly offshore conditions can change and underscored the importance of reliable communications and a trusted person ashore who knows when to raise an alarm.

Dan Gillis, manager of AMSA’s Rescue Coordination Centre in Canberra, said severe weather had occurred in the area where the vessel was last reported. He said the sailor was in good condition and was to be taken back to Darwin.