U.S. coast guard members rescued a kayaker during an attempted solo expedition from California to Hawaii.
70-Day Voyage
Cyril Derreumaux had attempted to paddle to Hawaii from the coastal town of Sausalito, California, in 70 days, until he was met with rough seas and high winds over the weekend.
U.S. coast guard officials say the kayaker endured several problems with his 23-foot kayak and was forced to abort the mission after he lost his sea anchor.
“It went from bad to worse very fast after that,” he told The San Francisco Chronicle.
In a Facebook post in his official account, Derreumaux said his kayak was pummeled by a 4.5-meter-high wave. The vessel’s in his anchor also became entangled in the rudder, and his GPS stopped functioning.
“As we were working with my team on a solution to this electronic problem, the general behavior of my kayak suddenly changed, which I immediately attributed to a sea anchor damage,” he wrote. “In a few moments my kayak was positioned almost parallel to the axis of the waves, and I found myself violently tossed from side to side, along with all the equipment that was stored in the cabin.”
“As night had just fallen, it was clear that the situation was not sustainable: inability to eat, drink, sleep, communicate easily with my team ashore,” he added.
Derraumaux’s kayak remains at sea. He will cooperate with authorities to conduct a retrieval effort this week.
