Two crew members have been taken off the yacht California which was dismasted in the Clipper 09-10 Round the World Yacht Race on the leg from Qingdao, China to San Francisco, USA, the 180-meter Danish registered tanker, Nord Nightingale, arrived to transfer injured crew member Clive Cockram on board. Fellow crew member, Dennis Flynn, was also taken on board.

“We finally caught up with ‘California’ in the dark some 18 hours after we were diverted to offer assistance,” says Pete Stirling, skipper of ‘Jamaica Lightning Bolt’. “We held position with her throughout the day until the very welcome sight of the tanker loomed over the horizon at 0430 GMT this morning. As they came to a stop next to us they launched their MOB boat (a small launch with an outboard engine) to come and take the casualty off ‘California’. There was still a large confused swell running with 25 knots of wind which made the operation no easy task. After over an hour of
attempting to safely get alongside ‘California’, the medevac was successfully completed whilst in the slightly calmer seas of the lee of the ship.”

Clive was sitting in the saloon when the boat rolled and was thrown across the cabin, ending up with cuts to his head. He responded well to treatment but will require some stitches to his wound. The ship is on the way from Japan and is expected to arrive in Los Angeles on March 31st. The team on
‘California’ continues to motor due east for the 2013 nm towards their destination in San Francisco.