A 66-year-old Japanese yachtsman rescued by a freighter in the remote southern Indian Ocean after being injured in stormy weather will end his nautical nightmare in South Africa, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said Tuesday.
Masayoshi Kikuchi, from Hokkaido, abandoned his 13-meter yacht Beam 7 on Saturday after the vessel rolled in high waves and gale-force winds on the South Africa to Australia leg of his solo around-the-world voyage.
"He's pretty battered and bruised. He's very weak and cannot walk without assistance," authority spokesman Ben Mitchell told Kyodo News after receiving a report from the CSK Radiance, the bulk carrier that rescued Kikuchi.
The Hong Kong-registered ship was traveling from Gladstone, Queensland, to Spain when it turned around to rescue Kikuchi, who activated his emergency locater beacon last Wednesday.
The yachtsman thought he had a broken left arm, but a medical assessment via radio between the CSK Radiance and the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia determined he was possibly suffering muscular or nerve damage, he said.
"He is very emotionally distressed," Mitchell said. "He has had a couple of emotional breakdowns and is very traumatized by the whole affair."
The ship will pass South Africa on its way to Europe and the yachtsman has asked to be airlifted off, he said.
Kikuchi was found 3,700 km west of Perth -- a location described as the most remote place on Earth -- after a search by a long-range jet, carrying a Japanese translator.