Australian Navy rescues Canadian after 15 hours at sea — ABC News Australia

The Royal Australian Navy rescued 70-year-old Canadian yachtsman James “Ted” Rutledge, who spent 15 hours in an inflatable boat in the Indian Ocean after his catamaran began to sink. The accident occurred about 1,000 kilometres from land — southeast of Christmas Island and north of Western Australia.

According to ABC News Australia, an alarm went off on the French-made Lagoon 42 catamaran during the night. Rutledge saw water entering the hull through an emergency hatch about half a metre wide. The hatch, which had been modified following a 2020 recall campaign, likely detached on its own.

Evacuation from the vessel

The yachtsman realised the vessel would sink in about ten minutes. The inflatable life raft was already underwater, so he tried to leave the catamaran in a dinghy suspended between the two hulls. The boat became stuck, and Rutledge had to cut the fastening with a knife. During this, he injured his hand, which was trapped by part of the vessel.

After a wave freed his hand, the Canadian was able to move away in the dinghy. He tied the boat to the rigging of the catamaran, which was partly submerged at an angle of about 45 degrees, so as not to move away from the more visible vessel. Rutledge feared that the catamaran could sink and pull him underwater.

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Search operation

Shortly before the accident, the yachtsman sent his coordinates and a safety message to his brother, Kelly Thomas, in Canada. As agreed during his round-the-world journey, he sent his relatives updates every six hours. When contact was lost, his brother contacted the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, AMSA.

AMSA was unable to detect Rutledge by radar but dispatched a search aircraft. Several hours later, the crew spotted his dinghy and dropped a life raft with an emergency beacon, radio, food and water.

Later, the Australian supply ship HMAS Supply, which was about 70 nautical miles behind, arrived at the site. An MH60 Romeo Seahawk helicopter was launched from the ship and took Rutledge aboard. HMAS Supply commander Kylie Turnbull said the yachtsman arrived on the ship without trousers, which he had lost during the accident.

After the rescue, Rutledge headed to South Africa, which was his planned destination. Before the accident, he had covered about 3,000 nautical miles and visited 33 countries.