March 26, 1983
American's sailing quest ends off Irish coast.
BURTONPORT, Ireland--
American trans-Atlantic sailor Wayne Dickinson, alone at sea for nearly
five months, escaped dazed but uninjured yesterday when his bathtub
-sized boat was swept onto rocks off the Irish coast.
Dickinson was picked up by a lighthouse attendant, who said
he found him crawling along the rocks of Aranmore Island, three
miles from the mainland, said British Coast Guard officials
at Falmouth, England The attendant, Charles Boyle
said Dickinson told him his 8'11" crat, "God's Tear", was dashed
onto the rocks in a gale, and he lost all his posessions, including
his passport.
Boyle, who is trained in first aid said Dickinson, 39, was
unable to walk, and it took two hours to restore normal circulation
in his arms and legs. The attendant and local fishermen
carried Dickinson to Boyles home, where he stayed overnight. A
doctor was summoned from the mainland.
Dickkinson, a computer technician from Satellite Beach, Fla., set
out from Hull, Mass, last Oct 30 with no radio equipment, hoping to
set a record for the smallest boat ever to sail west-to-east across the Atlantic His destination was Falmouth on Englands southwestern tip, 3,500
miles from Massachusetts. Boyle said he found Dickinson while
on a routine check of the automated lighthouse.
"I rushed to his aid immediately and I discovered the he was frightened
and dazed." Boyles said. "I assured him that he was safe, and then I
noticed he was so exhausted that he was unable to walk.
"I enlisted help of several fisherman who were in the area, and we
carried him home."
Boyle said Dickinson told him his boat hit the rocks on the shoreline,
and he thought he had landed on the Hebrides off the Scottish coast. The
The sailor said that he had not felt lost at any other time during his
journey.
Dickinson was first spotted after leaving the United States by the
Panamanian-registered freighter Brookness on Jan. 25 1983 about
750 miles east of St. John's, Nefoundland. He was about halfway
across the ocean. On Feb, 17, a passing ship relayed a message
through Norway saying he was fine,his mother told reporters.
Dickinson was attempting to better the record set by American
Bill Dunlop, who reached Falmouth last Aug 29 in a boat two inches
larger than "God's Tear". Dunlop made the voyage from Portland,
Maine, in 78 days.
"I'm ecstatic," said the sailor's mother. Peggy Dickinson, 60, from
her Satellite Beach home. She said she had called her daughter, Belinda
Dickinson, a 35-year-old Missouri surgeon, who was flying to Britain.
"I haven't made my reservations,but I hope to fly over tomorrow,
maybe." Mrs. Dickinson said. She said she had also called her husband,
John, 61,retired National Aeronautics and Space Administration employee
who was at the couples house in Little Torch Key, in the Floida Keys.
