Rower rescued after ‘rogue waves’ capsize boat in middle of Atlantic

The U.S. Coast Guard said that the man was 'dehydrated but otherwise in good health' and that he 'reported being in distress for approximately 24 hours.'

A solo rower was rescued from the Atlantic Ocean east of Puerto Rico after his rowboat capsized during the World’s Toughest Row Race, a 3,000-mile rowing race from San Sebastian de la Gomera, Spain, to Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua.

Benoit Bourguet, 47, a citizen of Belgium, was rescued by Coast Guard Sector San Juan Command Center watchstanders and the crew of the Horten Liberian-flagged tanker ship on Wednesday night after his single-man rowing vessel, City of Liverpool, was struck by two “rogue waves and capsized in 13 to 15-foot seas,” according to a press release from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Bourguet was forced to deploy and board his life raft after encountering the waves, the U.S. Coast Guard said. He attached his life raft to the capsized rowboat.

“Coast Guard Sector San Juan Command Center watchstanders received an unregistered 406 MHz Emergency Positioning Indicating Radio Beacon EPIRB signal from the City of Liverpool rowboat at approximately 2 a.m. Wednesday, alerting of a possible distress approximately 1,100 nautical miles east of Puerto Rico,” the Coast Guard added.

The watchstanders then received a second emergency distress signal from a personal locating beacon device from the same area as the rowboat. They then contacted the World’s Toughest Row Race safety co-ordinator, who confirmed they had not been able to contact Bourguet after many messages had gone unanswered.

An Automated Mutual-Assistance Vessel Rescue (AMVER) callout was issued by the watchstanders “to contact the 1,092-foot Horten tanker and Enhanced Group Calling (EGC) to notify other vessels in the vicinity to be on the lookout for distress.”

“They also contacted the rowing vessel Old Sea Dogs, also participating in the race, who made VHF radio callouts to Bourguet, however, these calls also went unanswered,” the press release continued. “Meanwhile, the Horten tanker, which was transiting on a voyage from Germany of Offshore Guyana, received the AMVER communication and diverted for over 12 hours transiting approximately 110 miles to the distress signal’s position.”

According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the watchstanders maintained communication with the Horten tanker ship’s crew.