Battered solo yachtswoman awaits rescue in Pacific

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December 7, 2018 5:06 AM

Susie Goodall was briefly knocked unconscious when mountainous seas upended her yacht "DHL Starlight" early Thursday, tearing off its mast and trashing much of her equipment.

British skipper Susie Goodall waves from the helm of her boat "DHL Starlight" on July 1, 2018, at the start of her solo around-the-world "Golden Globe Race" in which sailors compete without high technology aides such as GPS or computers

A British solo around-the-world sailor whose yacht was crippled in a ferocious storm as she crossed the Pacific has stabilised her battered vessel and is awaiting rescue, race organisers said Friday.

Goodall was attempting to navigate the southern Pacific's notorious Roaring Forties at the time as part of the Golden Globe Race.

The 29-year-old, the youngest competitor in the race and the only woman, sent frantic text messages to race organisers throughout her ordeal.

"Taking a hammering! Wondering what on Earth I'm doing out here," she texted as the storm hit.

When concerned organisers finally managed to contact her by satellite phone several hours later, she confirmed her boat had been dismasted but said the hull had not been breached.

Map locating position of Susie Goodall's yacht in the Pacific, which was crippled in a storm AFP

"The boat is destroyed. I can't make up a jury rig," she said. "The only thing left is the hull and deck which remain intact.

"We were pitchpoled (rolled end over end) and I was thrown across the cabin and knocked out for a while."

Race organisers said Chilean rescue authorities had diverted a Chinese container ship "Tian Fu" to pick up Goodall as she patched up her crippled vessel.

They said that while "beaten up and badly bruised" she was safe and had managed to bring flooding under control and get her engine going, giving her some manoeuvrability when the rescue ship arrives.

In text updates, Goodall said she endured "a looong night".

"In need of a good cuppa tea! But sadly no cooker," she messaged.

The Golden Globe Race involves a gruelling 30,000-mile solo circumnavigation of the globe in yachts similar to those used in the first race 50 years ago, with no modern technology allowed except the communications equipment.

Entrants set off from France on July 1 and are expected to finish in April next year.

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