Xavier Doerr, 22, was winched to safety this morning after his planned circumnavigation record-breaking of Australia went wrong. (Nine)
A sailor rescued from the ocean off the South Australian coast has spoken of his ordeal.
Xavier Doerr, 22, was winched to safety this morning after his planned record-breaking circumnavigation of Australia went wrong.
A rescue helicopter lifted him from the cargo ship that saved him from his sinking vessel yesterday afternoon. It took four attempts for the helicopter to pick him up.
The sailor called the helicopter paramedics “angels of the sky, that come to rescue the most extreme people in the world.”
Conditions took a treacherous turn on Friday afternoon when his sails were ripped off.
Doerr spent two perilous days stranded in the Great Australian Bight, issuing an emergency signal about 650 kilometres west of Kangaroo Island.
Clinton Daniels from South Australia Ambulance Service described what happened.
“He’s hit a submerged object which has then turned his boat sideways and a partial rollover which has then thrown him from a position in the boat to against the roof,” Daniels said.
Doerr was on a mission to become the youngest person to circumnavigate the country — on the smallest boat — in record time.
But winds of 110km/h and 10-metre waves forced his 65-day journey to an end.
He said he believed he collided with a sunfish, which can grow up to 1.8 metres, underwater.
Doerr spent the afternoon at the Royal Adelaide Hospital undergoing checks.
His family is thankful he’s okay
“I’m feeling relieved now that we know Xavier is safe, “ his mother, Caitlin Gardiner, said.
While the extent of his injuries is still unclear Doerr’s eyes are already set on his next adventure and being reunited with his boat.
“I’ll definitely be out sailing again one day soon,” he said.
