Solo Sailor Rescued off Ensenada

On November 5, the Coast Guard rescued a solo sailor from his 20-ft sloop Avalo about 160 miles southwest of San Diego after he phoned shoreside contacts for assistance. According to the Coast Guard, the sailor had left San Diego on November 1 and was en route to Puerto Vallarta when he ran into bad weather, breaking his boom and losing his outboard engine. "According to the ship’s crew," said USCG spokesperson Dan Duel, "the weather was near the limits for the rescue boat to safely operate." Duel said his understanding was that the skipper had a head injury but was otherwise in good condition. He added that the bad weather combined with trailing lines from Avalo‘s sea anchor prevented the rescue boat from getting a tracking device aboard the boat. Consequently, Avalo is still adrift and should be considered a hazard to navigation.

Though the Coast Guard could not confirm the identity of the skipper, it appears it was Dennis Howard of San Diego. We recently learned about Dennis’ goal to sail singlehanded nearly around the world to France aboard his Pacific Seacraft Flicka Avalo, a daunting journey on its own, but even more so when the skipper is legally blind.

After surviving a case of glaucoma with only 5% of his vision remaining, Howard decided not to let his impairment stop him from living his dreams. A longtime solo sailor, Howard says he had to relearn how to sail, just like he had to relearn how to safely cross a street. He outfitted Avalo to accommodate his very special needs, and hoped to help inspire others to break free of their limitations.

Though his website doesn’t mention anything about the incident, his last blog post notes that he was leaving San Diego on November 1 bound for Puerto Vallarta. Whomever the skipper was, we wish him a full recovery — both physical and mental — from this set-back, and would encourage him to keep living his dreams.