A MAN rescued by the Irish coast guard over the weekend had spent 52 days alone at sea.
Pete Currier was rescued off the coast of County Cork on Saturday evening after his boat lost power and had lost most of its sails, leaving him floating at sea to the pull of the tide.
He was rescued near the Old Head of Kinsale 52 days after setting off from the Caribbean, from where he intended to sail to Wales on his 'Sea Symphony' vessel, but the engine broke three weeks into the journey.
The father of three formerly worked as a stage manager for Irish band U2, and had also previously worked with megastars Nirvana and UB40.
A statement from Irish Lifeboats revealed that Mr Currier had attempted to do the last stretch of the journey with just his sails, but floated at sea for ten days as there was no wind, and was eventually rescued by the Kinsale RNLI on Saturday evening.
Volunteers tracked the boat throughout the day and grew increasingly concerned for Mr Currier's safety but the boat and Mr Currier were located safely and towed back to land.
His children, who live in West Cork, were waiting for him at the pier and they were joyfully reunited thanks to the work of the RNLI.
The father-of-three was exhausted but uninjured, and paid tribute to the RNLI volunteers on Facebook, where he described them as "absolute salt of the earth" and revealed they had even offered to wash and dry his laundry for him.
The former stage manager said: "The RNLI Kinsale are some of the nicest people I have ever met. Their expertise and commitment leave me humbled. It is an institution I have always supported and will do so for the rest of my days."
A spokesperson from the Kinsale RNLI said it is a "tribute to the yachtsman’s seamanship that he made a 6,500 km voyage single-handed and remained calm and focused despite the many problems he encountered in the course of his journey.
"He is very fit and able but was clearly exhausted after 52 days alone at sea and it was the right decision to help him over the final hurdle and bring him safely to Kinsale."
