Octogenarian Yachtsman on Ocean Passage Rescued
The 83-year-old British man was homeward bound from the Azores Islands when his yacht became disabled through storm damage. The crew of the Russian warship Vice-Admiral Kulakov responded to the lone yachtsman's MAYDAY call from his yacht Elixir in the North Sea. The yachtsman was given medical aid, telling the Russian sailors his yacht was pounded by a strong gale more than ten days ago while traveling to the UK from the Azores Islands. The yacht engine and electric equipment were disabled, and the main sail was torn. The Russian sailors brought hot food and drugs to the yacht. Ship technicians repaired the yacht's electric equipment and started up its engine.
Tanker Hits Sunken Ship
In what would on first appearance be a stupid New Year joke is indeed reality. A tanker carrying 70,000 tons of flammable kerosene, travelling in one of the world’s busiest waterways, inexplicably missed several warning signs and hit a ship dubbed Tricolor, a ship which was sunk with its cargo of 3,000 luxury cars in mid-December in the English Channel following its collision with a containership. In a vast understatement, a British Coast Guard official was quoted by one of the wire services as saying: This accident should not have happened. Really? Warnings of the sunken ship, which is submerged in about 75 ft. of water and apparently visible only at low tide, include half-hour warnings broadcast in the area, fluorescent buoys and a radar beacon.
