Rescue on the high seas

Yacht captain with P.E.I. connection pulls sailor from Indian Ocean

SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. – A yacht captain with P.E.I. connections has helped pull off the mid-ocean rescue of a fellow sailor.

Kirsten Neuschäfer, on her Cape George 36 cutter, Minnehaha, pulled Finnish captain Tapio Lehtinen from a life-raft in the southern Indian Ocean at about 5 a.m. local time on Saturday, Nov. 19. Lehtinen's yacht, Gaia 36 Asteria, suddenly started taking on water and sank within minutes the previous morning, around 7 a.m., Nov. 18.

Both Neuschäfer and Lehtinen are contestants in the Golden Globe Race, a solo sailing sprint around the world.

Neuschäfer is South African but spent much of 2021 in Darnley, P.E.I. rebuilding Minnehaha, which she purchased in Newfoundland and Labrador, in preparation for the race. Many in the Island's sailing community adopted her cause, even raising more than $10,000 for her efforts, and have watched her progress in the race.

According to messages shared by the Golden Globe Race organizers, Lehtinen has been transferred from Minnehaha to the Hong Kongflagged cargo ship Darya Gayatri. He has since shared his thanks to all involved in his rescue, with a special note to Neuschäfer, who fished him out of his survival raft and promptly handed him a swig of rum.

“Thank you also Kirsten for your excellent seamanship in maneuvering Minnehaha next to the raft, getting me onboard and for the rum. And then in cooperation with captain Naveen Kumar Mehrotra, getting Minnehaha safely in the lee of m/v Darya Garyatri and getting me safely onboard the ship where I am now very happily enjoying the Indian hospitality of the captain and crew,” stated Lehtinen.

A clip of a phone call Neuschäfer had with race organizers shortly after Lehtinen was transferred to the Darya Gayatri has been posted to the event's Facebook page. In it, she expressed relief that everyone involved was safe and sound.

“I'm full of adrenaline now, I've been up helming all night, and it's quite something to be manoeuvring so close to a ship, but we're all good. He was on board, we drank a rum together and then we sent him on his merry way,” she said.

“No congratulations needed for the rescue, everyone would do the same for another sailor, thank you guys for coordinating it.”

Neuschäfer has since resumed the race. The event organizers have indicated that she will not be penalized for the extra time she took away for the rescue effort.

The Golden Globe Race started in Les Sables-d'Olonne, France, in September and it could be seven months or more before the first ship sails back into port and the finish line. The race is unique in that it forbids the use of any sailing technology developed after 1968, when the first race was held.

Anyone interested in checking on the progress of any of the racers in real time can do so on the event's website goldengloberace.com/live-tracker/.