ALAMEDA, Calif., April 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. Coast Guard rescued two injured sailors aboard a storm-battered racing yacht off California Sunday night, authorities said.
The Contra Costa Times in Walnut Creek, Calif., reported the two sailboat crew members were plucked from the sailboat about 7:30 p.m. by a Coast Guard helicopter crew. Petty Officer Caleb Critchfield told the newspaper efforts to complete the rescue mission were ongoing.
The efforts to assist the imperiled yacht were hampered by 30-foot waves driven by 60-knot winds were preventing a rescue, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
"The swells are really big, which makes it difficult when the boat's rocking back and forth," Critchfield told the Times. "If the deck tilts enough that it even nudges the helicopter as it's taking off, even a little tap could be disastrous."
The 67-foot Clipper Venture 6, nicknamed the Geraldton, was taking part in an around-the-world race when it was roughed up Saturday by a storm blowing through the area. There were varying reports that three or four crew members from Britain and Australia had sustained injuries that included broken ribs.
The Chronicle said the skipper, Juan Coetzer, described his crew's harrowing battle with nature.
"The sea was alive with rage," he told race managers. "We were making good speed ... then a monstrous foaming swell broke over our stern. The water had so much force in it that it pushed [a crew member] into the helm, snapping the pedestal clean off. We had no steering and crew were falling all over the boat."
The yacht was limping toward the coast at the same time the Coast Guard cutter Bertholf was sailing west with a helicopter aboard. The chopper was to be used to lower a rescue swimmer to the sailboat and assess the injuries, which are considered to be serious, the Coast Guard said in a written statement.
A long-range Coast Guard C-130 plane flew to the area Saturday night with a medical team from the California Air National Guard, but weather in the area was too rough to allow them to parachute to the boat, had 13 crew members.
The yacht was about 400 miles west of San Francisco when it was struck by a large wave. The crew told a rescue center in Britain its steering mechanisms had been damaged and three crew members were hurt.
The storm carried stiff winds and churned up heavy seas as it moved across much of California Saturday night.
The Geraldton, one of 10 identical sailboats that left Southhampton, England, July 31 had departed from China about a month ago.
All of the racers are headed to Oakland, Calif., where they are expected to say until April 14 before heading to Panama.
