The wide open spaces of the north Atlantic have seen two remarkable rescues in the past couple of days. A man who went overboard from P&O cruise ship Ventura was plucked from the sea after the ship performed a rapid turn in the early hours of the morning; a few hours later, Norwegian Gem pulled five people to safety from a sailing vessel in heavy seas 250 miles from Bermuda.
Ventura could hardly have been in a more remote part of the ocean when the incident happened. The ship was crossing from Southampton to the Caribbean to start its winter season in the sun, and was three days out from Madeira. Passengers were woken at about 5.30 in the morning when the ship made a sharp turn, horns were sounded, and rescue boats lowered into the water.
Searchlights scanned the sea and the man was located and pulled out of the water and brought back on board. P&O, who have not confirmed whether he was a passenger or member of the crew, later said he was in a stable condition in the ship’s medical centre.
The 3,000-passenger vessel arrived in Tortola, in the British Virgin Isles, today, and will complete its 15-night cruise in Bridgetown, Barbados, on Friday.
Norwegian Gem, which was on its way back to New York after a week-long cruise, responded to a call from the USA Coastguard to aid the 39-foot sailing vessel Sanctuary, which had lost power and was taking on water in 40 knot winds and heavy seas 250 miles north-east of Bermuda.
The 2,400-passenger ship changed course and managed to get a rescue boat in the water despite the conditions. Four men and a woman were rescued from the Sanctuary.
Gem’s captain, Hakan Svedung, said: “The rescue operation was conducted under extremely difficult circumstances. I am proud of our crew who braved their lives to rescue the five people in distress.”
About the Author: John Honeywell
John Honeywell is a travel writer specialising in cruise ships and cruise travel. Winner of CLIA UK's Contribution to Cruise award 2017.
Sounds like a fantastic rescue effort in both cases.