Round World Sailors in Trouble

[derek s.langsdon]

Paramedics are preparing to parachute onto the Geralton Western
Australia Yacht taking part in the Round the World Yacht race after
heavy waves crashed aboard ripping away the steering wheel and mount, damaged communications, and injured the four crew men,one with suspected
broken ribs.Three of the crew of from the UK the other from Australia,
The event happened 400 miles off the Californian Pacific coast,

dsl

[derek s.langsdon]

add---Paramedics were unable to jump due weather but medical
supplies were dropped and assistance boat enroute.
The four man crew are:

Doctor Jane Hitchin from Kent, 50, suspect broken ribs
Nik Brbora from London 28, pelvis sprain
Mark Burke from Worcester,37,back injury
Max Wilson from Queensland,Australia,62, 2 suspect crushed ribs.

The "Geraldton Western Australia" yacht is one of ten UK registered
68ft vessels in the bi-annual Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.

dsl

[BlackBat242]

BZ to USCG.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/04/02/us/pac...cue/index.html

Injured sailors from racing yacht to be flown to San Francisco
By the CNN Wire Staff; updated 1:56 AM EDT, Mon April 2, 2012

(CNN) -- Two of four sailors who were injured when their 67-foot racing yacht was damaged by high seas over the weekend will be flown to San Francisco on Monday.

The four members of the Geraldton Western Australia's crew were wounded Saturday in stormy weather as they sailed from China to San Francisco for a leg of the Clipper Round the World Race, organizers said. The rest of the crew was described as "uninjured but shaken."

Rough waters hindered initial attempts to airlift the wounded from the yacht.

Sunday evening, a Coast Guard rescue boat transferred the two seriously hurt sailors to the Coast Guard Cutter Bertholf where they were medically evaluated.

Race organizers had earlier identified them as Jane Hitchins, 50, a doctor with four suspected broken ribs; and Max Wilson, 62, with two suspected cracked or broken ribs.

The cutter will head to shore Monday with the pair.

The other two crew members who were hurt -- Nik Brbora, 28, a software engineer with a possible pelvic sprain; and Mark Burkes, 37, with a back injury -- remain on board the yacht which is making its way to its designated mooring in Oakland.

On the race's website, the yacht's skipper, Juan Coetzer, said Burkes was at the helm of the boat when the wave came crashing over the stern.

"The water had so much force in it that it pushed Mark into the helm, snapping the pedestal clean off. We had no steering, and crew were falling all over the boat," Coetzer wrote.

The boat had been tossed by wind gusts between 45 and 70 mph before the wave hit, he said.

The yacht had been on the sixth of the eight-leg, 11-month race when it was damaged.

The contest pits 10 yachts crewed by amateurs against each other on a 40,000-mile journey around the world's seas.

Note that there are 13 crew aboard... of which 4 were significantly injured.

http://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local...145481625.html

Four of the 13 crew members, all British or Australian, suffered a range of injuries, including suspected cracked or broken ribs and possible pelvic and back injuries.