Cheshire Cat Photo Blog(...said the Cat: 'we're all mad here....')

The 67-foot sailing yacht, Geraldton Western Australia, was buffeted by wind gusts between 45 and 70 miles per hour before being hit from the stern with a force so strong that it propelled Mark Burkes into the helm, SNAPPING off the pedestal and leaving the sailing vessel without steering. The wave swept the deck, injuring four crew members, about 250 miles off the coast of San Francisco, California!

The sailing yacht was one of 10 crewed by professional skippers and amateur crews on an 11-month, 40,000-mile race, the Clipper Round the World Race. The leg from China to San Francisco was the sixth leg of the eight-leg race that is scheduled to end in England in July.

The rescue attempt on Sunday to airlift the injured sailors was hindered by very rough waters. On Sunday evening, with the aid of a rescue swimmer, the two most seriously injured sailors, Jane Hitchens, 50, a doctor with suspected broken ribs, and Nik Brbora, 29, a software engineer with a possible pelvic strain, were transferred first to a small rescue boat and then to the larger Coast Guard cutter, Bertholf. The cutter brought the two, listed as in “stable”  condition, to Alameda at around 3 PM today. The other two injured, identified by race officials and the Coast Guard as Max Wilson, 62, a farmer with suspected broken ribs, and Mark Burkes, 47, with a back injury — remained on board their yacht on Monday.

The yacht was still operational and headed toward the Bay Area today with its two injured men and a “shaken” but uninjured crew. The Geraldton Western Australia is expected to arrive at Oakland‘s Jack London Square at around 1 A.M. on Tuesday. The yacht will undergo maintenance after it arrives and is expected to rejoin the race.

The CNN article has a video about the rescue.

-Bill at

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