7 meter high waves

Extreme rower drifting towards cyclone: rescued

(Bild: AFP/AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE/Handout)

A rower from Lithuania got into distress during a Pacific crossing due to a violent cyclone off the Australian coast - just a few days before his planned arrival in Queensland. The athlete was confronted with seven meter high waves and had to send out a distress signal.

Aurimas Mockus has since been rescued by an Australian Navy vessel, according to the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA).

After the extreme athlete sent a distress signal at the end of last week due to cyclone "Alfred" over the Coral Sea, a rescue operation was initiated using aircraft and the naval vessel "HMAS Choules". Although he could not initially be located at the weekend, contact was made with the exhausted rower.

The rower after his rescue

(Bild: AFP/AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE/Handout)

Mockus had set sail from San Diego in California in October and wanted to row 12,000 kilometers to Brisbane on the east coast of Australia. The plan came to an abrupt end just 700 kilometers off the Australian coast. "Alfred" swept across the region with gusts of up to 130 kilometers per hour and meter-high waves.

(Bild: HOGP)

First Pacific crossing ended similarly
"The solo sailor was rescued and is safe on board HMAS Choules, where he is being medically examined," the news agency AAP quoted Vice Admiral Justin Jones as saying. The ship was meanwhile on its way to Sydney.

The first person to row across the Pacific alone and without a stopover was Briton Peter Bird in 1982-1983. He is also listed in the Guinness Book of Records for this achievement. Bird was also in distress after 294 days at sea near the Great Barrier Reef, around 50 kilometers from the mainland, and was rescued by the Australian Navy. However, due to the proximity to the mainland, his undertaking was considered a success by the sport judges and the Ocean Rowing Society.