Sailboat Towed Into U.S. After Being Abandoned

After spending 13 days without a crew and adrift in the Atlantic Ocean, the 41-foot sloop Avenir was located and towed back into Rhode Island on Monday night, EastBayRI reports.

The 41-foot sailboat was returning to the US after the recent Newport to Bermuda race when it was abandoned after suffering rudder damage, with the cruise ship ‘Norwegian Star’ picking up the sailors 230 miles off Bermuda June 26th.

“It was two weeks ago today that we left it,” said skipper, Ron Rostorfer who was the last man to leave the boat when the six person crew was rescued by the Norwegian Star cruise ship. “That was an agonizing two weeks for Joe.”

Over that time, the owners of the boat monitored the location of the Avenir using the transponder installed for the Newport to Bermuda race. Watching a dot on a computer screen, they talked about the potential to recover the boat.

When it was 370 miles south east of Newport, a company was hired to find the boat and tow it back to Rhode Island, where it arrived on Monday night

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