(11-18) 08:23 PST WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) --
A rescue ship plucked a veteran solo rower from the southern Pacific
on Tuesday night, about 30 hours after pounding waves broke his two
oars and swept away his gear.
British rower Jim Shekhdar, on a nonstop journey from the southern
port of Bluff to Cape Town, South Africa, was picked up by a New
Zealand fisheries research ship after calling for help when his
26-foot vessel rolled several times.
Shekhdar was "in a pretty reasonable state, though cold and wet and
with a lump on his head," when he stepped onto the rescue ship's deck,
said National Search and Rescue Coordination Center spokesman Paul
Harrison.
This is the second time the 57-year-old adventurer has called for
help. He was towed back to New Zealand on Oct. 17 after going just 50
miles, when his global positioning navigation system and wind-powered
generator failed.
Shekhdar, who expected his 9,000-mile trip to last seven to 12 months,
already has rowed across the Atlantic and completed a solo row of the
Pacific from Peru to Australia in 2001.
