Well, another sailor had to be rescued in the Southern Ocean, adding to the number of sailors who lost their boats and almost their lives during the 50th anniversary running of the Golden Globe Race won by Sir Robin Knox-Johnston back in 1968-69.

Goodall is hoisted aboard the Tian Fu by one of the ship’s cranes.

Susie Goodall, the sole female sailor in the race, was knocked unconscious when her Rustler 36 sailboat was pitchpoled, then rolled, in 9-meter seas and 75-knot winds in the Southern Ocean. She woke up to a head injury, found the boat was destroyed and everything on deck wiped clean off the boat. No mast, poles, rigging, or self steering gear…all ripped off as the boat went end over end. Even the chain plates werepulled out of the boat.

She set off her EPIRB, and the drama unfolded as one would expect. Chilean Coast Guard coordinated a rescue, the nearest ship was a Hong Kong-flagged bulk carrier headed from China to Argentina. It was 400 miles away and took a couple of days to reach her position, some 2,000 miles west of Cape Horn. On Friday, she was lifted off her boat by one of the ship’s cranes, and taken aboard the ship. I’m sure we’ll hear more in the coming days.

Fellow sailor, Mark Slats, spoke to Goodall the day before her rescue, and said she is “completely destroyed” by the terrifying experience and loss of her boat. Such conditions were beyond her imagination.

The Rustler 36 is a great bluewater boat, but even