Pelican abandonned - crew safe
Pelican
Darryl and Anne Saxton
Wed 2 Dec 2009 16:30
|
Last night
Darryl, Chris, Pete, Martin and Chalky were evacuated from
Pelican following massive rig failure, approximately 325 nautical
miles west of the Cape Verde Islands.
The Singapore
flagged merchant vessel Crimson Mars diverted to assist them at the request of
MRCC Falmouth, after Darryl called a MayDay yesterday afternoon due to
the unacceptable risk to the crew of remaining aboard.
Pelican was
unable to motor due to a fouled propellor (ropes wrapping round it when the some
of the rig and sails came down).
Darryl
also considered the rig to be in a dangerous condition following
several failures of the wires that were holding the mast up. Falmouth
coastguard and Ponta Delgada (Azores) coastguard were involved in
co-ordinating the crews evacuation.
All of the guys are now safely aboard the Crimson Mars and are en route to Gibraltar. Pelican has been abandoned, to fend for herself for the time being. Her future and whereabouts is currently unknown. |