THAT'S JUST SWELL

Lone Rower Rescued 1,000 Miles from Land in 15-Foot Atlantic Waves

He had been competing in the World’s Toughest Row Race.

A solo rower has been pulled from the water 1,000 miles from land after being capsized by “rogue waves” in 15-foot swells. Belgian 47-year-old Benoit Bourguet was competing in the World’s Toughest Row Race in the Atlantic when things were turned upside down, forcing him to ditch into his life raft on Wednesday night. He was rescued off the east coast of Puerto Rico by the Coast Guard Sector San Juan Command Center Watchstanders and the crew of the Horten Liberian-flagged tanker ship, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement. “Watchstanders were able to contact World’s Toughest Row Race Safety Coordinator, who confirmed they had not been able to contact Bourguet after numerous messages had gone unanswered,” the Coast Guard’s statement said. He was pulled from the water in good health, having kept hold of his boat, City of Liverpool. Bourguet was competing in the “3,000-mile rowing race from San Sebastian de la Gomera, Spain, to Nelson’s Dockyard in Antigua,” the statement added.