Coast Guard rescues would-be trans-Atlantic rower off New Jersey coast
Duncan Hutchinson was rowing from New York to the British Isles when he ran into rough weather off the Jersey Shore.
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A Scottish man's solo bid to row across the Atlantic from New York to the British Isles was cut short when the Coast Guard had to rescue him in rough seas off the coast of New Jersey.
The Coast Guard said it received a distress call from Duncan Hutchinson, 52, about 11:20 p.m. Sunday that his rowboat, Sleipnir, was beset by bad weather about 20 miles east of Barnegat Light.
The Coast Guard dispatched a 47-foot motor lifeboat from the Barnegat Light Station and sent an urgent message to ships at sea to be on the lookout for the rowboat.
Early Monday, the lifeboat crew found the Sleipnir and rescued Hutchinson, the Coast Guard said. Winds were 21 mph with 8½-foot seas.
"Thankfully [Hutchinson] was well prepared and hailed us on his VHF marine radio on channel 16," said Petty Officer Second Class Eric Thornton, the coxswain on the lifeboat. "We were able to pinpoint his location by using our Rescue 21 radio system, and that saved his life."
According to the London Times, Hutchinson, of Lochinvar, Scotland, is a novice sailor who built his boat in his shed to make the 3,000-mile trans-Atlantic journey.
Seth Johnson, a Coast Guard spokesman, said the lifeboat crew had to leave the rowboat at sea because of the conditions.
He said Hutchinson hoped it would wash ashore so he can recover it.