Hawaiian Tourist Rescued From Capsized Boat Near Cape Palmerston on Thanksgiving
An American tourist had much to be thankful for this thanksgiving after he was rescued from his capsized catamaran off the central Queensland coast on Thursday, November 22, after a long night drifting in the ocean.
A RACQ CQ Rescue helicopter winched the 29-year-old from the hull of his overturned catamaran at about 7:45 am Thursday, after the Australian Maritime Safety Authority alerted them that an emergency beacon had been activated off the coast.
Levi Verwoest, from Hawaii, said he had been sailing along the Queensland coast when he noticed the 23-foot boat slowing and taking on water around sunset on Wednesday. Within minutes his boat capsized and he was forced to spend a long, cold and lonely night sitting on the hull of his boat before activating his locator beacon at dawn.
The rescue chopper was able to locate Verwoest by honing in on his distress signal and found him about 40 km south of Mackay in the waters between Cape Palmerston and Knight Island. He was taken back to Mackay Airport and thoroughly examined by a doctor and paramedic but was uninjured and “incredibly calm”, according to rescuers.
Rescuers appealed for help to assist Verwoest in getting to Sydney as he lost all his possessions, including his passport, during the incident. Credit: RACQ CQ Rescue via Storyful
