Assault Victim Bob Medd Flies to Calgary
August 21 – Calgary, Canada
Bob Medd, who barely survived a murder attempt while sailing
in the Sea of Cortez aboard his Aloha 34 The Learning Curve,
flew to Calgary, Canada, yesterday, to be with his family and
undergo reconstructive surgery. This according to Bob Willmann
of the Islander 34 Viva, who buddyboated with Medd most
of last winter and who started Medd’s fateful cruise in company
with him. The good news is that “Bob is doing extremeley
well and is expected to make a full recovery.” He will live
with his daughters when he gets out of the hospital. Having lost
everything, Medd’s future is uncertain, but he would like to
get another boat and continue cruising. Family and friends are
setting up a trust fund, and we’ll let everyone know the details
as soon as they are available. Friends can email Medd at [email protected].
Willmann says Bob wants to stress that
everyone he met during the whole ordeal – with the exception
of his two attackers, of course – was extremely kind, helpful,
and professional. These include the four Mexican fishermen who
found him and sacrificed a day’s income, the police, the mayor,
the immigration officers, the doctors and nurses in Santa Rosalia
– all went above and beyond to help him. An elderly patient in
the Mexican hospital even gave Bob his shirt for the ride north.
He notes that all of the Mexican citizens he’s met have expressed
sorrow and shame that this thing happened in their country. All
of them are confident the men will be found and punished.
There have been a number of relatively
minor conflicts in the reports about what happened to Medd. Here
are the accurate details, according to Willmann:
Bob Medd, a 52-year-old singlehander from
Calgary, departed Santa Rosalia aboard his Aloha 34 TLC
on Sunday, August 12, with the intended destination of Bahia
San Francisquito, about 20 hours farther north in the Sea of
Cortez. Shortly after 9PM that evening, two men in a panga came
alongside asking for water. Bob went below to get some from the
refrigerator. When he turned around, he found that the men had
boarded TLC, and that one of the men was holding his wallet
and a bread knife that had been on the counter. He attacked Bob,
slashing him on the wrist. While they fought, the other started
hitting Bob in the head and face with some object, presumably
a rock. Bob was knocked unconscious.
Sometime during the night, Bob regained
consciousness and found himself lying in a pool of blood in the
salon. He also became aware that TLC was on the rocks,
with the motor still running and the mainsail raised. He made
it into the cockpit but passed out again. When he next awoke,
the boat was listing heavily and breaking up on the rocks. He
knew he was in big trouble. He grabbed a blanket, some water,
a flare gun and a flashlight, and attempted to swim/crawl to
the beach. He reached the rocks and once again passed out. He
was awakened by pain when the rising salt water reached his neck.
That was the first time he knew that his throat had been slit
from ear to ear. All day Monday he passed in and out of consciousness,
without ever seeing another boat. His wounds were getting very
infected and he had lost a lot of blood.
Tuesday afternoon around 3PM, four fishermen
spotted his boat on the rocks and came over to investigate. They
discovered Bob on the beach and immediately saw that he was in
dire need of medical attention. They managed to get him into
their panga and used five of his flares to attract a Mexican
naval vessel that then transported him back to Santa Rosalia.
An ambulance was waiting when they arrived and Bob was taken
to the local hospital. The Mexican doctors did everything they
could, and were responsible for saving his life.
On Thursday he was taken by car to a hospital
in Southern California. The drive took over 12 hours. The California
doctors were told they had an emergency patient who had been
attacked by pirates and had his throat slit. They didn’t believe
the story until they actually saw Bob. When they saw him, they
were amazed he’d managed to stay alive for so long. They operated
on him during the early hours Friday morning, and were able to
stabilize him.
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