Communication Breakdown

A British sailor failed in a risky attempt to help a French solo rower who has been facing a communications breakdown in heavy south Pacific seas since the Iridium global mobile phone company went bankrupt.

Ellen MacArthur, sailing in the region called the "screaming 50s," changed course to try to bring rower Jo Le Guen a replacement communication system, her sponsor Kingfisher Challenges said. MacArthur, 23, and her crew reached Le Guen's 29 ft. (9 m) craft Keep It Blue in harsh weather conditions with just over two hours of daylight left. Icy squalls with winds reaching 30 knots and turbulent seas made transferring a bag containing a portable Magellan e-mail unit extremely hazardous, the sponsor said.

"After nine failed attempts...we managed to throw the bag into his boat, but it was immediately washed over the side and lost, and with it the last chance of helping him with the communication problem," MacArthur said.

MacArthur, who is preparing for a solo round-the-world sailing race, resumed her route toward Cape Horn at the tip of South America.

Le Guen, who departed from New Zealand on Feb. 3, is one quarter of the way into a 5,600-mile solo crossing of the South Pacific to raise international awareness of ocean preservation. Le Guen and those associated with his voyage are concerned that the Iridium collapse will rob him of his main tool for navigation and weather reports, New Zealand project coordinator Martin Pinder said. "It is going to be a major inconvenience. Whether it turns out to be a matter of life and death, I don't know," he said.

Iridium World Communications Ltd. two weeks ago failed to attract a suitable last-ditch offer to rescue it from liquidation, marking the end of an ambitious project to provide telephone service to any spot on the globe through a system of 66 low-orbit earth satellites. After what seemed a promising launch, Iridium fell into bankruptcy protection last August as sales and service proved disappointing. Critics said service and equipment were too costly, the phones too bulky and the service to erratic.

According to Le Guen's website at www.keepitblue.net, the telephone operator continues the service for users who need it for their essential safety, but it is unknown for how long this will continue. In an Iridium customer notification, Motorola, who operates some of the service gateways used by Iridium customers, stated that it will continue to maintain the Iridium satellite constellation for a limited period of time, while a deorbiting plan is finalized. During this time, Motorola will try to provide service to remote users with no other means of communication. However, the notice says, "the continued availability of Iridium service for these remote customers during this time will depend on whether the other independently-owned and operated gateway companies remain open."

Without the Iridium network, only readings from a beacon will be available to locate him. "If that happens, Jo is going to be totally alone, unable to inform us if there is any hazard or health problem," the site states.

Le Guen carries maritime emergency equipment, but the phone is his only way of keeping in touch with advisers, family and his doctor during the voyage, which is expected to take about 100 days.

In the event that Le Guen's Iridium phone stops working, Pinder reports on the website, there is a P&O container ship that could get communications hardware to Le Guen.

Another potential victim of the failure of the Iridium system could be French solo skipper Philippe Monnet, who is currently sailing south of New Zealand, half-way through an around-the-world race against the prevailing winds. - (Staff and wire reports)