Man found on top of handmade boat in Pacific Ocean before being rescued by cruise ship | World News

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Tom Robinson, 24, from Brisbane, began his 8,000-mile journey in his boat ‘Maiwar’ from the coast of Peru in July last year and was due to arrive in Cairns in December. He activated his distress alarm on Thursday off the Pacific islands of Vanuatu.


A man trying to become the youngest person to cross the Pacific Ocean in a handmade boat had to be rescued by a cruise ship after it capsized.

Tom Robinson, 24, from Brisbane, Australia, began his 8,000-mile journey in his boat ‘Maiwar’ from the coast of Peru in July last year and was due to arrive in Cairns in December.

But a statement on his website said an “unexpectedly large wave… came through the main hatch and flooded the cabin” on Thursday.

This caused him to activate his distress alarm, which saw a French plane take off from Noumea in New Caledonia, eventually locating him around 100 nautical miles southwest of Luganville, Vanuatu.


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After the plane found him, a P&O cruise ship made a detour to save him, finding him naked on top of the upside-down vessel.

The statement read: “In the dark, the plane spotted Tom who was standing on the upside-down hull of Maiwar.

“Subsequently a cruise ship, Pacific Explorer, made a detour from its planned course to pick up a naked Mahuta [Tom] who climbed a rope ladder to reach the deck.”

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The statement confirmed he was given medical treatment but “sounded well” in a phone call to his family 13 hours after the rescue.

It added: “Our sincere thanks go to the Australian, New Caledonian and Vanuatuan authorities who all had important roles to play in his rescue; and to the captain and crew of Pacific Explorer who literally went out of their way to pick up Tom.”

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