Man Rescued After Spending 10 Hours In Atlantic Ocean During Around-the-world Sailing Race

US Marine Corps veteran Ronnie Simpson, 38, found himself in a perilous situation while racing to sail around the world when his boat sustained severe damage off the coast of Argentina in the South Atlantic Ocean.

Activating his distress beacon approximately 600 miles from the shore on Monday, Simpson faced the daunting prospect of being stranded with a storm approaching, following a violent impact that broke his boat's mast.

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Simpson's ordeal

Using a Starlink satellite connection, Simpson took to Instagram to alert his followers of the impending danger posed by the approaching storm, citing wind speeds exceeding 50 knots and swells reaching up to seven meters.

With his boat destabilized and lacking the necessary stability to endure the rough seas, Simpson made the difficult decision to call for rescue rather than risk further damage or potential danger.

Despite contacting the US Coast Guard and Argentinian Navy, locating a vessel capable of conducting a rescue operation proved challenging and time-consuming.

However, Simpson's fortunes changed when a Taiwanese ship en route from South Africa to Argentina diverted its course to rescue him. Just moments before being rescued, Simpson shared with his followers that the 750-foot Sakizaya Youth was within sight, marking a dramatic turn of events in his harrowing ordeal.

¡°It¡¯s really, really not how I wanted this race to end, and not how I wanted this boat to end, but it is what it is,¡± Simpson shared. ¡°Live to fight another day. Given the scenario, it¡¯s the right decision. Doesn¡¯t make it any easier though. It¡¯s not even bittersweet it¡¯s really just all bitter.¡±

Rescued after 10 hours

After anxiously waiting ten grueling hours with the sun already set on his location, the Iraq war veteran turned professional racing sailor was rescued.

¡°I learned a lot during this campaign and during this race, and I¡¯m excited and optimistic to see what I can do with this hard-earned knowledge,¡± Simpson wrote in an Instagram post on Wednesday, sharing a final view of his boat after being saved.

Before calling for rescue, Simpson was holding third place in the Global Solo Challenge ¡ª a 26,000-nautical mile race around the world that started off the Galician coast of Spain on Oct. 29 last year. He was the skipper of the Open 50 Shipyard Brewing, competing in the first-ever Global Solo Challenge, according to his website.

With an estimated time of finishing the race being around 130 days, Simpson was in the home stretch, having rounded the Cape Horn off Chile ten days earlier.

¡°We are heartbroken for Captain Ron. It has been painful for us to watch this unfold. We can only imagine the pain he feels leaving behind the sailboat he¡¯s lived on for the past 106 days,¡± Shipyard Brewing said in a statement.

¡°This has been devastating for Captain Ronnie as he put his full heart and soul into his bid to win the Global Solo Challenge.¡± Simpson is expected to return to land in Argentina in a few days.