Darwin sea-dog rescued after mishap in homemade boat

A DARWIN sea nomad has had another close call after being rescued sailing from Panama to Australia in his homemade boat the Kehaar Darwin

Kris Larson's hoemmade boat. PICTURE: US Coast Guard

A DARWIN sea nomad has had another close call after being rescued sailing from Panama to Australia in his homemade boat the Kehaar Darwin.

Dinah Beach Sailing Club yachtsman Kris Larsen, 62, was 100 days at sea and believed to have been making his way back to Darwin when he was rescued in a “disorientated state” off the coast of Hawaii on Sunday.

Dinah Beach Sailing Club yachtsman Kris Larsen was rescued off the coast of Hawaii.

Mr Larsen departed Darwin late in 2014, bound for South Africa during a five-year world trip. He had been sailing westbound by way of Cape of Good Hope.

After crossing the Atlantic Ocean he entered the Panama Canal, where he made his last port in September.

It was reported that Mr Larsen, a veteran sailor, lost his bearings, spending days in the open waters confined to his 9m boat. Passengers aboard a passing commercial boat, 6km off the coast of Maui, finally spotted him when they heard his cries for help.

Larsen and his damaged boat were towed back to Sugar Beach on Maui by a United States Coast Guard response boat. US Customs and Border Protection will interview him before his voyage back to Darwin resumes.

Mr Larsen’s Darwin-based partner Natalie Uhing is bemused by the fuss and attention the incident has attracted, reportedly describing it as “very ordinary in the sailing world”.

“Much ado about nothing, trust me. He asked for a tow, the guy called the coast guard. A boat without an engine or technology seems to be the cause of all the excitement,” was her only response. However the alertness of the commercial boat that spotted Kris has been praised

“Being disoriented while at sea in a vessel with no communications aboard can be deadly if not handled quickly,” Petty Officer 2nd Class Jacob Schlereth, a boarding officer and engineer at Station Maui, said.

“We commend them for recognising the complications and contacting the authorities to initiate a rescue.”

Larsen is no stranger to being rescued at sea. In 2013 he spent 42 days stranded at sea when he was blown 760km west of Darwin by persistent easterly winds after setting sail from Bali to relocate the ketch White Bird to Darwin

He lost communications and had to battle bad winds alone on the 12m steel ketch, which had a broken-down engine and damaged sails.

Larsen is renown for his sea travels and gypsy-trader lifestyle. He has travelled more than 75,000 nautical miles around the world on yachts with no engine, exploring and living in countless countries..