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Breaking news from CBC News Nova Scotia
TRACKER
A rescue mission was launched Friday in the mid-Atlantic after vessels involved in a sailing race ran into trouble amid high seas and hurricane-force winds.
Joint Task Force Atlantic in Halifax said it was responding to distress calls from three vessels involved in the*transatlantic*race between the U.K. and Rhode Island.
Lt. Len Hickey of the Royal Canadian Navy said emergency beacons from the boats went off shortly after midnight.*One of the sailboats lost its mast*and the other two suffered damage*to their hulls and rigging.
None of the vessels was longer than 15 metres, said Hickey.
all images © Paul Gibbins
No Canadians on boats
One of the boats had*two sailors on board, while the other two each had*one sailor. Hickey said the nationalities of the sailors were not being released at this time, but that*none*was*Canadian.
They were*approximately 1,600 kilometres east of Newfoundland as of mid-afternoon Friday.
Weather conditions for the area were*reported as stormy with hurricane-force winds between 90*and 130*km/h*and seas of 10 to 15 metres.
"Conditions in the area remain fairly difficult," said Hickey.
Nor'easter-like winds
CBC*meteorologist*Kalin*Mitchell said satellite*images show*some*of the winds near the sailboats are*"on par with some of our strongest winter nor'easters."
A map showing the location of the vessels participating in the race as of 1:31 ET on June 9. (Royal Western Yacht Club.)
The*Royal Canadian Air Force dispatched multiple aircraft to the scene, including a CC-130 Hercules and a CP-140 Aurora from 14 Wing*Greenwood in Nova Scotia.
HMCS Charlottetown was also heading to the area, along with the Canadian Coast Guard vessels Pearkes and Cygnus and two civilian tankers. Hickey said the ships were*expected to be on scene around noon*Saturday.
Winds will ease Saturday
Mitchell said*the winds and waves will begin to ease as*the storm*moves*northeast. By Saturday morning at 8 a.m., he said, the area where the boats are will have winds between 40 and 60 km/h, with waves between 3½ metres and six metres tall.*
The vessels were participating in the Royal Western Yacht Club's original single-handed and two-handed transatlantic races between the port city of Plymouth in southwest England and Newport,*R.I.
The races have been a tradition for decades. The first single-handed race was in 1960 and the event now happens every four years.*
'Man against the sea'
Halifax sailor Mark MacNeil's*friend*Christian*Chalandre*of France is one of the participants in this year's race.
"Everyone who gets involved knows that this is the kind of weather they have to be prepared to face," he said.*
Chalandre*is*competing*in a 10.3-metre or 34-foot boat that's 46*years old, racing*in a class where the vessels are a similar size.
"He has lots of experience as most of them do and he has a good strong old boat, so in fact, he should be doing quite well, I would think," MacNeil said.
MacNeil, who has sailed solo across the*Atlantic, said*boats competing in large races*are "very well equipped" with satellite phones and gear to communicate with the shore and with each other. *
"It's still one man against the sea and they'd be pretty lonely," he said.*
Competitors List
http://rwyc.org/ostar/
TRACKER
A rescue mission was launched Friday in the mid-Atlantic after vessels involved in a sailing race ran into trouble amid high seas and hurricane-force winds.
Joint Task Force Atlantic in Halifax said it was responding to distress calls from three vessels involved in the*transatlantic*race between the U.K. and Rhode Island.
Lt. Len Hickey of the Royal Canadian Navy said emergency beacons from the boats went off shortly after midnight.*One of the sailboats lost its mast*and the other two suffered damage*to their hulls and rigging.
None of the vessels was longer than 15 metres, said Hickey.
all images © Paul Gibbins
No Canadians on boats
One of the boats had*two sailors on board, while the other two each had*one sailor. Hickey said the nationalities of the sailors were not being released at this time, but that*none*was*Canadian.
They were*approximately 1,600 kilometres east of Newfoundland as of mid-afternoon Friday.
Weather conditions for the area were*reported as stormy with hurricane-force winds between 90*and 130*km/h*and seas of 10 to 15 metres.
"Conditions in the area remain fairly difficult," said Hickey.
Nor'easter-like winds
CBC*meteorologist*Kalin*Mitchell said satellite*images show*some*of the winds near the sailboats are*"on par with some of our strongest winter nor'easters."
A map showing the location of the vessels participating in the race as of 1:31 ET on June 9. (Royal Western Yacht Club.)
The*Royal Canadian Air Force dispatched multiple aircraft to the scene, including a CC-130 Hercules and a CP-140 Aurora from 14 Wing*Greenwood in Nova Scotia.
HMCS Charlottetown was also heading to the area, along with the Canadian Coast Guard vessels Pearkes and Cygnus and two civilian tankers. Hickey said the ships were*expected to be on scene around noon*Saturday.
Winds will ease Saturday
Mitchell said*the winds and waves will begin to ease as*the storm*moves*northeast. By Saturday morning at 8 a.m., he said, the area where the boats are will have winds between 40 and 60 km/h, with waves between 3½ metres and six metres tall.*
The vessels were participating in the Royal Western Yacht Club's original single-handed and two-handed transatlantic races between the port city of Plymouth in southwest England and Newport,*R.I.
The races have been a tradition for decades. The first single-handed race was in 1960 and the event now happens every four years.*
'Man against the sea'
Halifax sailor Mark MacNeil's*friend*Christian*Chalandre*of France is one of the participants in this year's race.
"Everyone who gets involved knows that this is the kind of weather they have to be prepared to face," he said.*
Chalandre*is*competing*in a 10.3-metre or 34-foot boat that's 46*years old, racing*in a class where the vessels are a similar size.
"He has lots of experience as most of them do and he has a good strong old boat, so in fact, he should be doing quite well, I would think," MacNeil said.
MacNeil, who has sailed solo across the*Atlantic, said*boats competing in large races*are "very well equipped" with satellite phones and gear to communicate with the shore and with each other. *
"It's still one man against the sea and they'd be pretty lonely," he said.*
Competitors List
http://rwyc.org/ostar/
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