Sailor with cat rescued off Alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A Frenchman with his cat tucked inside his clothing made a daring leap of faith Tuesday when he jumped to a waiting rescue ship from his sailboat, which was being battered by high seas south of Alaska.

The U.S. Coast Guard captured the dramatic video from a C-130 Hercules airplane monitoring the rescue. The man’s identity hasn’t been released, but Petty Officer Lauren Steenson in Kodiak said the sailboat was named La Chimère.

The man activated a location beacon Tuesday about 670 kilometres south of Cold Bay, Alaska. The C-130 was dispatched to assess the situation.

The airplane crew made radio contact with the mariner, who reported his 30-foot sailboat lost its rudder and rigging in heavy seas and high winds.

“With the 20-foot seas, his boat is getting pretty well thrown around,” Steenson said.

The coast guard made contact with the Polar Pioneer, an oil drilling vessel used by Royal Dutch Shell off Alaska’s northwest coast this summer.

The ship and support vessels were nearby as they make their way back to Port Angeles, Washington.

The Polar Pioneer sent a support ship, the Tor Viking, to rescue the sailor.

Video shot by the coast guard shows the sailor on the rigging pole near the bow of his sailboat, riding wave after wave until making a dramatic leap over the railing of the Tor Viking.

The video shows the man disappearing behind the railing head first, with his legs last to disappear behind the Tor Viking’s railing. After a few seconds, a crew member of the Tor Viking is seen walking toward the man, who then stands up.

The sailboat left Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on Oct. 13, headed to Vancouver.