|
|
|
|
|||||
|
||||||
Subject: [worldcruising] DAVID CLARK TO RESURRECT ROUND-THE-WORLD ATTEMPT
From: Evert Volkersz (evolkersz@XXX.XXX)
Date: Sat Feb 17 2001 - 12:53:32 EST
>From the ARRL Letter, vo. 20, no. 7, www.arrl.org
==>DAVID CLARK TO RESURRECT ROUND-THE-WORLD ATTEMPT
Within hours of a maritime disaster in which his sailboat sank and his
beloved canine companion Mickey was lost at sea, 76-year-old David Clark,
KB6TAM, was ready to once again set sail. Despite the devastating loss,
Clark has vowed to continue his effort to become the oldest person to sail
solo around the world.
Clark may have ham radio to thank for being alive. According to media
accounts, when Clark realized he was in trouble, he used his onboard ham
gear to call for help.
Following his rescue February 7, Clark told his wife, Lynda, that he would
complete his journey "if I have to swim." Clark had begun the final leg of
his round-the-world sail when his vessel, the Mollie Milar, sank two days
after leaving Cape Town, South Africa. He had hoped to reach Ft Lauderdale,
Florida--where he began his journey in late 1999--by mid-May, a sail of
approximately 7000 nautical miles from South Africa.
Clark now is back in Cape Town, thanks to several South African hams, and
he's making plans to restart his adventure with another vessel.
Lynda Clark said that since speaking with her husband by telephone, she's
been able to get more accurate details on what happened the night of
February 7, when the Mollie Milar began taking on water and her husband and
Mickey, a west highland terrier, had to abandon ship in rough seas.
Clark is said to have put out a distress call via Amateur Radio, and his
call was picked up in Cape Town and relayed to maritime rescue authorities.
"It was very fortunate that there was a ship close by," she said.
The container vessel Emonte was equipped to mount a rescue effort. The
Emonte launched a lifeboat with a crew of four, which subsequently
capsized.
But David Clark and Mickey were not aboard at that point.
With the initial rescue effort foiled and thinking the ship might not be
able to rescue him after all, Clark prepared his own lifeboat for launch,
Lynda Clark said. By then, the ship was within a few feet of Clark's
44-foot
steel-hulled sailboat and again ready to attempt a rescue. A line was
thrown, and Mickey was put into a sling to bring him aboard first, but he
wriggled free and was lost at sea.
For his part, Lynda Clark continued, "David had all he could do to get
himself up the side of that ship at this point, and limited time to do it."
"We are totally indebted to the people on the ship who rescued David and
brought him safely back to East London port," Lynda Clark said. "And we
can't express how much we appreciate the ham operators and all the people
of
South Africa who have loved and supported David and are now offering him so
much assistance."
Hams in East London paid Clark's fare to Capetown and arranged for a hotel.
Another group of hams is said to be looking after Clark in Cape Town.
"He will get to Ft Lauderdale to complete the goal, we just don't have the
date yet," Lynda Clark said this week. For more information on David
Clark's
journey, visit http://www.dclark.com and http://www.captainclark.com.
Material from The ARRL Letter may be republished or reproduced in whole or
in part in any form without additional permission. Credit must be given to
The ARRL Letter and The American Radio Relay League.
------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~-~>
eGroups is now Yahoo! Groups
Click here for more details
http://click.egroups.com/1/11231/1/_/508787/_/982432093/
---------------------------------------------------------------------_->
=====================================
to unsubscribe email to: worldcruising-unsubscribe@onelist.com
|