2026 International Ocean Safety at Sea Award
by Barry Pickthall 9 Nov 06:42 GMT
7 November 2026
Alistair Hackett MD Ocean Safety ltd, LCdr Andrea Rice repesenting U.S. Coast Guard Eastern District - 2026 International Ocean Safety at Sea Award © Steve Walker
The U.S. Coast Guard East District was presented with the 2026 International Ocean Safety at Sea Award, sponsored by Ocean Safety Ltd, at the Cape Horners annual lunch in Portsmouth, UK on 7th November for the successful rescue of five crew members from the 54ft catamaran MAGIC BUS, 260 nautical miles off Cape Hatteras, N.C., in a force 8-9 gale on 6th November 2025.
The distance was beyond helicopter range, so the US aircraft carrier George H. W. Bush was diverted to serve as a refuelling point for the outward and return flights.
The 1,100-mile migration voyage from Long Island Sound, Connecticut, to sunnier climes in the Bahamas is one that many yachts undertake at the start of the winter. MAGIC BUS had an experienced delivery crew on board, and the forecast predicted 20-knot fair winds for much of the voyage. It should have been a fast, stable passage for this 20-year-old South African-built multihull.
But one day out, the crew discovered the port engine compartment had flooded, and used buckets, hand pumps, and electric pumps to stem the flow. They even utilised the starboard engine intake, running a temporary hose between the two compartments to increase the combined pumping capacity to 5,000 gallons per hour. It was all to no avail.
Then, in the middle of the night, all hell broke loose. The working jib sheet parted with a bang. Moments later, the lazy sheet, whipping around uncontrollably, caught the corner of the saloon hatch and ripped it clean off the deck. Water was now pouring in from above and below the waterline.
Sitting at home, MAGIC BUS owner Brandon Flack had already been alerted to the hull leak via a sat phone link with the boat and was busy trying to troubleshoot the problem. At 03:30, skipper Buster Pike called again to say that they were abandoning ship and asked Flack to alert the Coast Guard via the general US Emergency service No 911 because they had been unable to raise the Coast Guard from onboard.
All told, the successful rescue took 9 hours, from abandoning ship to touchdown at the Coast Guard Air Station in Elizabeth City, North Carolina.
The award was presented to Lt Commander Andrea Rice, the U.S. Coast Guard UK Detachment Supervisor who underlined some of the lessons learned from this emergency rescue.
Read the full story here.
Read the first-person account of MAGIC BUS rescue by crewman Dylan Flack here.
Sir Chay Blyth BEM, CBE - presented with the Pindar Lifetime Achievement Award
Another to be honoured at his year's Cape Horners annual lunch in Portsmouth UK was Sir Chay Blyth, best known for rowing across the Atlantic with fellow Paratrooper John Ridgeway, pioneering a solo non-stop West/East circumnavigation against the prevailing winds and currents in 1966, and leading a team of Paratroopers to line honours in the first Whitbread Round the World Race in 1974.
Many will also recall his 1978 Round Britain race win, his 1981 victory in the two-handed transatlantic race both with Rob James, and perhaps his 1986 powered east/west transatlantic record with Richard Branson.
But most know him for giving them the opportunity to race around the world in his Global Challenge west/east circumnavigation races between 1992 and 2005. Some 7,000 amateur sailors took part in these races, 607 of them completing full circumnavigations via Cape Horn.
Receiving the Award from Andrew Pindar OBE, who has supported many successful circumnavigation attempts, Sir Chay was given a standing ovation by the 136 Cape Horners attending the lunch.
Read the full story here.
Growth in Sailing around the world: British yachtswoman Dee Caffari MBE, a veteran of 7 circumnavigations, co-skipper of first all female Jules Verne Tropy attempt
The growing interest in sailing around the world via Cape Horn is underlined by a 7-fold increase in membership to the International Association of Cape Horners in recent years, coupled with the growing number of global events - The Golden Globe Race, The Ocean Race, The Vendée Globe race, Jules Verne Challenge, Ocean Globe Race, Global Solo Challenge and Globe 40 Race - all of them passing the infamous Cape.
British yachtswoman Dee Caffari MBE, a veteran of 7 circumnavigations, gave an inspiring talk at lunch about her last adventure as co-skipper during an around-the-world sailing voyage aboard the maxi trimaran IDEC Sport early this year, setting a new record for an all-female crew. Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, President of the International Association of Cape Horners, and first person to sail solo non-stop around the world back in 1969, said: "You could have heard a pin drop as she spoke. Yes, many of us have done the same voyage, but Dee Caffari described it so very much better."