Sailor adrift in Southern Ocean saved by Antarctic cruise ship There were "scant" early details of the rescue but AMSA said Mr Delord had been recovered "safely and without injury." "He is currently receiving medical attention and early indications are that he is healthy," the authority said. Weather conditions were better than expected and there was plenty of light in the area. A reporter for Australia's Fairfax newspapers, who was on board the Orion, said Mr Delord looked "awake and relatively well" as he boarded the ship by a side door to cheers and whistles from those on board. Orion captain Mike Taylor had warned passengers the stabilisers would have to be switched off as they approached Delord's vicinity, and urged passengers worried about the ship rolling and rocking to lie down in bed. The crew expected strong winds and waves of between three and seven metres (10-23 feet), and were preparing to approach the raft directly and winch Delord up if they were unable to launch the Zodiac. The Orion was 11 days into an 18-day passenger cruise of the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic when it was drafted into the rescue. It was the only ship within 100 nautical miles to respond to AMSA's distress call. AMSA dropped Delord food, water, communications equipment and a safety suit on Saturday and had stayed in regular contact with him leading up to the rescue. The experienced yachtsman has been at sea since October last year and was reportedly following the route of the Vendee Globe round-the-world ocean race. Frenchman Thierry Dubois and Briton Tony Bullimore were famously rescued by the Australian navy after several days adrift in the Southern Ocean during the 1996/97 edition of the Vendee Globe.