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Tanker crew rescued capsized rower Benoit Bourguet
The crew of the 'Horten', working with U.S. Coast Guard watchstanders in San Juan, rescued the Belgian ocean rower Benoit Bourguet, 47, late on Jan 21, 2026, after his boat had capsized in heavy seas more than 1,100 nautical miles east of Puerto Rico. He was competing in the 3,000-mile solo race from the Canary Islands to Antigua, when two rogue waves struck his single-man rowing boat 'City of Liverpool' in 13- to 15-foot seas. The impact capsized the boat, forcing Bourguet to abandon it and deploy his life raft. The rescue operation began around 2 a.m., when the Coast Guard Sector San Juan received a distress signal from an unregistered 406 MHz EPIRB, followed shortly by a second alert from Bourguet’s personal locator beacon. Repeated attempts to reach him through race coordinators were unsuccessful, prompting the Coast Guard to issue an AMVER call to nearby commercial shipping. The 'Horten', en route from Wilhelmshaven to offshore Guyana, responded to the alert and diverted more than 100 nauticaal miles, transiting for over 12 hours to reach the reported position. Guided by updated beacon data, the crew eventually spotted a life raft in heavy seas and confirmed Bourguet’s presence. Despite challenging conditions, the tanker’s crew successfully recovered Bourguet, using a lifering. He was dehydrated, but otherwise in good condition after spending nearly 24 hours adrift, having kept his overturned vessel tethered to the raft. The 'Horten' and race organisers were coordinating Bourguet’s transfer ashore at a later date. Report with photos: https://www.news.uscg.mil/Press-Releases/Article/4385688/coast-guard-horten-tanker-ship-recue-capsized-belgium-rower-during-worlds-tough/
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