Finnish solo rower apologises after ocean rescue 3,000km from South Africa

A Finnish adventurer who was attempting to row solo from Cape Horn, Chile to Cape Town, South Africa, has been rescued after losing much of his gear in a violent storm in the South Atlantic.

Jari Saario was rescued by a Greek merchant ship around 2am Sunday, some 3,000 kilometres southwest of South Africa. He had to abandon his seven-metre rowboat, which partly filled with water after flipping over.

On Sunday, Saario posted a video on his Instagram account from aboard the Cymona Eagle. In the video, Saario apologised to his family, partners, and every one of his more than 200,000 social media followers.

Saario describes the chain of events and the rescue operation as “completely incomprehensible”.

Saario says he is in good condition considering the circumstances, but he is very sorry for everything that happened. He also expressed thanks for all the messages of encouragement he had received.

Saario is now on his way to Cape Town, from where he is to return home to Helsinki. The ship is expected to arrive there on 16 January.

Boat abandoned at sea

Saario issued a distress call on Friday evening. On Saturday morning, the Cymona Eagle was directed towards his boat and made contact with Saario.

At 2:10am Finnish time on Sunday, the ship’s captain confirmed that Saario had been successfully rescued.

His fibreglass boat was damaged by rough seas and could not be recovered. It was 7.3 metres long, 1.6 metres wide and 1.4 metres high. It weighed approximately 400 kilograms empty and 600 kilograms when loaded.

Saario, a 53-year-old former firefighter, has previously rowed solo across the Atlantic and back. In 2023, he rowed from the Canary Islands to Antigua and back from Canada to Germany.

source : yle