Worst days of my life, recalls sailor

Agence France-Presse

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A badly injured French yachtsman rescued in treacherous conditions in the Southern Ocean said yesterday that his days stranded at sea were the worst of his life.

Round-the-world sailor Yann Elies, 34, also thanked rescuers who plucked him from the ocean Saturday as well as Australian hospital staff after he underwent surgery for a broken leg he suffered during the Vendee Globe solo yacht race.

The rescued sailor described his high-seas ordeal as "the worst five days of my life," according to a statement released by the Royal Perth Hospital, where Elies is recovering from an operation carried out on Tuesday.

The Frenchman spent around two days in the cabin of his 18-meter yacht Generali unable to move and in great pain between breaking his leg on Thursday and being rescued and taken to Perth by the Australian navy.

A hospital spokeswoman said Elies, who was tired and emerging from a general anesthetic, was listed as stable and recovering well from surgery on his badly fractured femur, which left him incapacitated on his yacht last week.

Elies' family has arrived in Perth to be with him and he is expected to return to France as early as next week or possibly even sooner, depending on his condition, the spokeswoman told AFP.

No to press
"He will, however, not be taking any further media enquiries after issuing his statement," she said.

Elies' team, Generali, has dismissed fears raised by medics on board the Australian naval vessel that rescued Elies, HMAS Arunta, that he may also have broken his ribs and suffered injuries to his lungs. Elies, a competitor in the round-the-world solo Vendee Globe race, fell and broke his leg when a huge wave smashed into his boat while he was changing a sail. He was somehow able to call for help but then lay stricken on his bunk, just two meters from his medical kit and food supplies but unable to reach them.

The Arunta's commanding officer, Steven Bowater, said earlier this week that Elies would have died had the naval vessel not reached his position some 800 nautical miles south of the Australian mainland.

"I can tell you that the doctor made an assessment that he would have died if we had not arrived on the scene," Commander Bowater said.

High danger
Bowater said the HMAS Arunta sailed more than 3,000 kilometers in its rescue mission, during which it also delivered much-needed diesel fuel to a dismasted yacht also in the Vendee Globe race, and had carried out a dangerous transfer of Elies from his yacht to the frigate.

A rigid-hulled inflatable vessel was used to transfer Elies in heavy seas from his cramped confines to the naval ship, which brought him into the port of Fremantle, near Perth on Monday.

The Australian Defence Force said yesterday that the use of the frigate Arunta during the four-day rescue mission would have cost up to $2.71 million.

The ship costs the government around 998,000 dollars per day to operate, but the military stressed the vessel was on standby as part of normal defense planning and that much of the cost would have been incurred anyway.

The military said in a statement it would not attempt to recover any of the bill for the mercy mission.

"Australia would expect similar support from nations with search and rescue responsibilities in other areas around the world," the statement said.

French insurance company Generali, which sponsors Elies' boat, was forced to deny agreeing to share the costs of the rescue after an Australian media report said it may reach a cost-sharing "arrangement" with the Australian authorities.