The news of Andrew’s rescue from the North Pacific ocean has spread far and wide – from the UK to the US and was even reported on Spanish news according to my Mum! It is brilliant to see Andrew doing so well after his ordeal, and he has written a crew blog post today which I wanted to share here.
Andrew and Sean have also been interviewed on Radio 5 Live, and the interviews are well worth a listen. Listening to Andrew’s account of how he kept himself occupied whilst waiting for the boat to come back and rescue him is especially poignant. I’m not sure how many people would have remained as calm and collected as Andrew did and I have no doubt that contributed to his survival.
I have posted links at the end of the article which readers in the UK will be able to listen to for the next 5 days for Sean’s interview and 7 days for Andrew’s interview.
Derry~Londonderry~Doire – Andrew Taylor 03 APR 2014 – Race 10
“THANK YOU”
The biggest ever ‘thank you’ to Sean and each and every one of the crew aboard Derry~LondonDerry~Doire in the North Pacific. After 48 hours of close observation by our medical expert on board I have been given the all clear for now from the dangers associated with hypothermia and secondary drowning. I am dressed and warm again, have had some food and am now beginning the process of getting back to full strength.
Words cannot even begin to describe how grateful I am for the massive team effort from everyone that went into the lengthy search and recovery operation. I have seen some of the amazing on board footage of our ‘LegenDerry’ crew arriving on deck within only seconds to assist, some bare foot, many in only base layers or what they were sleeping in moments before, showing true gritty team spirit and immense personal bravery from all in the moment. The search lasted considerably longer than anyone could have imagined. I know many of the crew members subsequently really suffered themselves in the extreme cold and wet conditions, together with the trauma of the situation which affects us all too.
Thank you to Olly and all the crew on board OneDLL for responding so quickly and coming to assist with the search. I understand there are very many messages of support to family back home, thank you to everyone out there for those. My thoughts and massive gratitude are with you all.
I spoke with my daughter Siobhan earlier today, she requested I pass on her ‘big thanks to skipper and crew for bringing her dad back.’ Not-withstanding how much everyone in the whole team did, I would like to publicly thank; Susie Redhouse, our team medic, who never left my side once since I arrived back on board. Jason Middleton, who immediately stepped forward, harnessed up and got into the icy waters to recover me, taking a pretty rough beating himself in the process. Nick Blewer, larger than life above me on deck all the time during the recovery, talking to me and directing operations. Kristi Wilson, for being hoisted up the mast for well over an hour, throughout the big storm and the wild cold winds to look for me. Skipper Sean McCarter, for remaining calm throughout, managing the team and the boat in his immaculate, concise and professional manner.
We have now resumed racing again and our team spirit aboard is as strong as ever. We are all now looking forward to getting to San Francisco as quickly and safely as possible.
Sean’s interview – scroll to 35:53 in the timeline
Andrew’s interview – scroll to 38:00 to hear Andrew and then to 1:39:15 to hear Andrew’s parents giving their reaction.
via Crew Diary | Clipper Race – Race 10 Day 17 | derry-go-round (the world).