Australian solo rower Tom Robinson rescued by P&O cruise ship crew after boat overturns in Pacific
6 October 2023
A young Australian man rowing between Peru and Australia has been rescued by a cruise ship carrying 2000 passengers after his boat overturned in the Pacific Ocean.
Tom Robinson, from Brisbane, was south of Vanuatu when his 7m, self-built wooden boat “Maiwar” was damaged late on Thursday night.
The 24-year-old activated his distress beacon before the boat overturned.
The call was received by the New Caledonia Marine Rescue Co-ordination Centre and the P&O Pacific Explorer was tasked with the rescue.
“We have rough conditions, with our seas. Around three or 4m high waves,” New Caledonia Marine Rescue Co-ordinator Nicolas Chomard said.
The ship reached Robinson early on Friday as he clung to his upturned vessel before crew members pulled him on board.
“(I) think that was at about 6 o’clock their time this morning, and he rang us not long after that,” Tom’s dad Tim Robinson said.
“I’d just like to say a huge thank you to all the crew on P&O Pacific Explorer whose seamanship and professionalism ensured a safe rescue,” Robinson said in a statement.
“Once aboard I was treated with the utmost courtesy and kindness by the medical staff. Many, many thanks to P&O for everything they have done for me.”
Robinson left Peru on Maiwar, the Turrbal name for the Brisbane River, in July 2022.
In October last year, his website reported he had been “unwillingly” carried off course by 120 nautical miles (222km) due to wind and currents.
The following month, he wrote that he “encountered a very large wave that tipped Maiwar on her side and flooded the deck and part of the cabin”.
“I designed Maiwar with a number of safety features in case of such events,” he said.
In December, he reported making landfall on Penrhyn, an atoll that is part of the Cook Islands that’s just over halfway between South America and the Australian mainland, 160 days after he left Peru.
He left Penrhyn in April and had stays in Pago Pago in American Samoa in June and Vanuatu in September.
Robinson has not revealed how — and if — he will proceed with his rowing journey to Australia.