The veteran Barcelona sailor Jacinto Rodríguez, owner of the Tp52 'Duende' (CN Arenys), who fell overboard early this morning, has been rescued about 9 miles (17 km) north of Dragonera Island and transferred to the Son Espases University Hospital in Palma de Mallorca. Rodríguez, 84 years old, is recovering at the hospital and may be discharged this afternoon.
At 8:50 am this morning, the British sailboat Sea Hawk rescued him after he had fallen overboard without a life jacket while performing a maneuver to overcome the adverse weather conditions in the area.
The veteran sailor remained in the sea for more than five hours until the Helimer 213 helicopter from Maritime Rescue located him and immediately notified the sailboat Sea Hawk, which went to that position to proceed with his rescue. Later, a SAR helicopter transferred him from the boat to Son Espases hospital.
The search operation was coordinated by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Center located in Palma de Mallorca, under the Ministry of Development. It was activated at 4:30 in the morning as soon as the crew of Duende reported the emergency to Maritime Rescue.
Maritime Rescue participated with the Helimer 213 helicopter, the Salvamar Acrux vessel, and the Marta Mata ship. Likewise, Maritime Rescue in Palma issued warnings to sailors, and specifically, the Abel Matutes of Balearia, the Tenacia of Acciona, and the Sea Hawk, which rescued the shipwrecked, participated in the operation. The Duende itself and a SAR helicopter were also part of the operation.
The Duende was heading to Palma, where it is scheduled to participate in Division IRC I of the Copa del Rey de Vela regatta starting on Monday, the 3rd.
The boat is a TP52 based at the Club Nàutic d'Arenys de Mar. It is a Botin Carkeek design built in 2007 in the United States. It is the former "CAM" owned by Fernando León and Kiko Sánchez Luna and in which King Felipe VI competed.