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Injury could force sailor out of race
A Preston sailor may be forced to cut his round-the-world journey short after injuring an eye when his yacht hit rocks in the Java Sea.
David Paton, 56, from Goosnargh, has told that his future in the Clipper Round the World yacht race rests on whether his eye improves, and has said that his family now want him home.
David, a retired Senior Fire Officer based at Fulwood, who now works as a Personal Development Coach, has been taking part in the voyage since September, and was due to finish his journey in China next month.
But his yacht Cork Clipper was destroyed as it hit a submerged barrier reef off the coast of Indonesia, and David and his 15 fellow crew members had to be rescued by rival yachts.
David said: "We were told this week that Cork will not be salvaged, and will be left on the reef to break up."
He also described the "huge sadness as I watched my home being ground to pieces by the waves", adding that "she was the centre of my life from June last year, and my final view of her abandoned to her fate will live with me for a long time.
"There will be a new Cork later in the race, but for now our team effort ended on an island in the Java Sea."
He added: "The crew are being allocated to other yachts, but the shock is taking time to wear off. For me, I only had 2,000 miles to go to China, and it all hinges on how my eye improves."
David was below deck when Cork hit the rocks, having gone off watch three hours earlier after a long shift fighting through a tropical storm with strong winds.
He said: "Down below we didn't know what had happened. We needed to get dressed and up on deck and I was busy with some safety tasks, but it was not nice being the last person in the sleeping area with rocks grinding on the hull."
Although unsure about how the accident happened, David explained that it could be due to navigation equipment failure, unexpected currents or a skipper's error.
The crew were on board for around seven hours before skipper Richie Fearon gave the order to abandon ship and board liferafts.
David said: "We were in the raft about 30 minutes, but were taking in water so were pretty busy bailing."
David and the rest of the Cork crew were rescued by rival Clipper yachts California and Finland.
The race continued to the Indonesian island of Batam, and David, who had no sailing experience prior to the race, said: "I have no regrets about taking part in the race and may well come back to do some more in the future."
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Weather for Preston
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -3 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light sleet
Temperature: 3 C to 3 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: South east
