The Pacific Explorer cruise ship answered a distress call and was able to rescue the stranded young rower. Source: Bernard Spragg, Wikimedia Commons
Brisbane rower Tom Robinson was rescued by a cruise ship when his handmade rowboat capsized in the Pacific Ocean, leaving him clinging naked to the boat.
Robinson, 24, was on his way to breaking a record to become the youngest person to row across the Pacific Ocean when his journey was cut short.
Robinson had left Peru almost a year and a half ago, stopping for four months in the Cook Islands during cyclone season.
“A big wave came out of nowhere and unfortunately I didn’t have the hatch closed to the cabin,” he told the NZ Herald.
“I was sitting inside … so instantly I had to swim out from the flooded cabin, climb on top of the hull, and I activated my [satellite] phone which sent out a distress signal.
“It was really cold and I tied myself on … to the boat and that really helped me because waves were breaking over the boat constantly and I was just sort of holding on for dear life.
“I held on to the boat for about 14 hours and then … I saw the cruise ship approaching and I knew that I was saved.”
The P&O cruise ship, the Pacific Explorer, was on a nine-day round-trip from Auckland when it received the distress signal from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority and made a 200 kilometre detour to pick up Robinson.
Robinson has thanked the crew and on-board medical staff for rescuing him and providing him with food and warm clothes.
“I didn’t have any clothes on when the wave hit the boat — I usually row naked because it stops chafing,” he said.
Despite the distressing event, the young rower remained calm and composed as he waited, trusting that help would come.
“You can’t let any doubts creep in because then that becomes a really bad headspace to be in,” Robinson said.
“From when I was 14 onwards, I’ve been dreaming about this journey … and I didn’t quite complete it… But that’s okay, that’s life.”
