In October of last year I shared the unbelievable story of two women who were adrift at sea for five months before finally being rescued by a fishing ship from Taiwan. Their initial plan was to sail from Hawaii to Tahiti, but a series of poor decisions and bad luck left them stranded. When they were finally rescued, their 50-foot ship, the Sea Nymph, was abandoned at sea and its fate was unknown. Now, the ship has been spotted once again, this time by competitors taking part in the Volvo Ocean Race.The ships taking part in the race are now heading south to Auckland, New Zealand as they compete in the sixth leg of the event. But yesterday, Team Turn the Tide on Plastic spotted a ship drifting in the ocean without any signs of life whatsoever. The vessel didn't respond on radio and appeared to be dead in the water, so the team contacted Race Control which confirmed that there were no search and rescue operations underway in the area.
Not wanting to pass by without rendering aid if necessary, the crew fired up a drone that is onboard and flew it over to inspect the vessel more closely. It turns out that it was indeed the Sea Nymph still floating on the ocean completely alone, but little worse for wear from when it was abounded.
Turn the Tide on Plastic skipper Dee Caffari says they discussed salvage rights for the ship and momentarily considered towing it along with them to Aukland, but decided it probably wasn't all that feasible. So, the Sea Nymph is still adrift, creating a hazard to other vessels in the area. In other words, if you're in the market for a 50-foot yacht, it is out there waiting for you to claim it.
The video below provides more context and footage. This is definitely an interesting side note to the story from last fall and just another day on the job for the Volvo Ocean Racing teams.
