Stranded Sailor Rescued After Being Spotted By Air Canada Passengers

Stranded sailor, Glenn Ey, 44, bobbed helplessly on his broken boat until a few hundred people unexpectedly came to his rescue. The Australian yachtsman was stranded approximately 270 miles away from the Sydney shore. Passengers on an Air Canada flight spotted his broken boat drifting in along on the high seas.

Last week Ey set sail on what he thought would be a joyous excursion, but his boat flipped in a storm, snapping his mast. He eventually ran out of fuel. The Gold Coast area yachtsman reportedly clutched onto the emergency beacon he had activated when his mast split into three pieces after the Pacific Ocean became unruly. Ey reportedly drifted for approximately 16 hours along the Tasman Sea.

The Air Canada Boeing 777 was traveling to Sydney from Vancouver but was diverted by Australian maritime authorities who needed help locating the stranded sailor. The maritime officials hoped that by changing the plane’s flight path, the passengers and crew might be able to help pinpoint the location of the broken watercraft, according to People. Fortunately for the beleaguered sailor, seven passengers had binoculars in their carry-on bags and scanned the dark sea below looking for his missing boat.

The eagle-eyed passengers did spot Ey, and the vessel’s location was further confirmed by an Air New Zealand flight. Glenn’s spirits surely must have lifted when he heard the massive planes flying overhead. A police boat was dispatched to the area, rescuing the drifting sailor.

Glenn Ey had this to say about the boat wreck during an interview with the Daily Telegraph:

“A huge wave came along and it picked me up and just rolled me over. I smashed into the roof of the yacht and then I was back on the table. The starboard companionway was torn off the boat and it flooded with water. Everything was just floating around and I was up to my knees in water. These guys had been motoring flat-out for 12 or more hours to get to me. Huge seas. Strong winds. Difficult scenario. And they went to work. I’ve tried to tell all of them they’ve been absolutely brilliant, and I more than appreciate it.”