Australian sailor dies of dehydration after days cast adrift in dinghy

Australian sailor
The Katerina was formerly owned by legendary US newsman Walter Cronkite and once played host to Bill and Hillary Clinton

An Australian sailor is dead and two others are in hospital after spending several days adrift in a tiny dinghy.

Antony Mahoney, aged 73, succumbed to severe dehydration after being rescued by Filipino fishermen yesterday (Sunday, December 17).

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His shipmates, Lionel Ansselin, 74, and Lawrence Mallea, 68, remain under observation at the Adela Serra Ty Memorial Medical Center in Tandag City. Mr Annselin is married to a Filipina from La Union.

Emergency beacons on-board the sailing yacht Katerina were activated on Thursday and detected by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. The authority then alerted Philippine officials before the trio abandoned ship.

They then spent the following days and nights being battered by severe storms and scorched by the sun before their rescue.

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Chief Inspector Armando A Martizano of Tandag City police said: “They had been adrift at sea for six days after their yacht foundered somewhere along the waters of Dinagat.

“The fishermen estimated that they rescued the foreigners about 50 miles from the coast of Tandag, roughly somewhere near Siargao.

“Unfortunately Mahony did not make it and succumbed to severe dehydration by 10 Sunday evening.

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“The two who survived the ordeal are in stable condition, their relatives and families in Australia have been contacted.”

According to SBSNews, Mr Mahoney was a resident of Townsville, Queensland.

The 18-metre yacht Katerina — which was once owned by legendary American newsman Walter Cronkite and had counted Bill and Hillary Clinton among its guests — was being delivered from north Queensland to new owners in Subic when disaster struck.

 

The Katerina, which was known as the Wyntje when it was owned by the late Mr Kronkite, has travelled the globe several times, making regular passages of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.

Investigations into the incident are continuing.