Sailor Rescued After Whale Collides with Vessel, Extensive Damages

After a whale collided with his 50-foot vessel, a lone man was rescued nearly 40 miles off Mexico’s western coast.

The huge impact left the boat without steering and it began to take on water – which did not initially register with the captain. The sailor, Max Young, used a mattress to initially plug the hole caused by the whale, then turned on four bilge pumps as he tried to get the incoming water out as fast as possible.

Unsure of how long it would take to be found and rescued, Young initiated an emergency beacon – ultimately alerting the Coast Guard. The EPIRB pinpointed his location and contact details, which proved for a successful rescue.

Officials directed a nearby merchant ship to the sinking vessel. Once the freighter arrived, Young was thrown a rope ladder and boarded the ship to safety. He will not make it back home for another week or so, however.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, Young had been on the final leg of a trip from the East Coast to Emeryville, Calif., when the collision took place. The 67-year-old has been sailing for at least 30 years, but having worked on boats with his father, who was a commercial fisherman, he's been on the ocean most of his life.