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A naked Australian rower was saved from the Pacific Ocean after clinging to his capsized boat for 14 hours.
Robinson told the outlet that the hatch to the cabin on his boat was open when a “rogue wave came out of nowhere and turned the boat upside down.”
“Instantly I had to swim out from the flooded cabin and climb on top of the hull,” he told the publication.
“I didn’t have any clothes on when the wave hit the boat — I usually row naked because it stops chafing,” Robinson, who is from Brisbane, continued. “So I was sitting in the cabin with no clothes on and then all of a sudden I’m upside down.”
“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," he added to theNew Zealand Herald.
Tom Robinson was suffering from sunburn when he was saved from the water.Tomrobinsonboats.com
Tomrobinsonboats.com
According to U.K. newspaperThe Times, a French Navy aircraft located the 24-foot rowing boat late on Thursday. P&O’s Pacific Explorer, which had 2,000 passengers on board on a round-trip to Auckland, then made a 124-mile detour to rescue Robinson.
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“I feel really bad that I had to interrupt a cruise, I really do,” he continued. “And it is a real shame that my life was in danger and I had to put other people’s lives out of their way to come and save me. I’m not proud of that at all and I’d rather it not be like that.”
According to the publication, the cruise missed two ports of calls due to the rescue mission.
Robinson — who was suffering from sunburn and dehydration when he was rescued, perThe Times —shared that he was “surprisingly calm and collected” during the ordeal.
Tom Robinson hopes to one day complete his mission.GoFundMe
GoFundMe
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“I had the utmost faith that help would arrive. You can’t let any doubts creep in because then that becomes a really bad headspace to be in,” he told theHerald, adding, “This morning, after first light, I saw the cruise ship approaching and I knew I was saved.”
According toThe Times, Robinson was on the final leg of a 15-month voyage across the Pacific when his boat capsized near Vanuatu, a South Pacific Ocean nation made up of roughly 80 islands. His voyage began in Peru in early July 2022.
His mum told the outlet she was “very pleased to have him home.”
“Thursday night was a very stressful night for us, but when we got the phone call on Friday morning … and we heard his voice, and he was safe, well we were just so elated,” she said.
As for what’s next, Robinson told theHeraldthat he hopes to write a book about his experience, adding that he might “one day” try to finish the last leg of his voyage, which has been his dream since he was 14.
source: people.com
