" The Australians made massive efforts to get to him, even before they knew he was alive."
I think it was onetrack that said something along these lines.
The Crew of the HMAS Adelaide was on Xmas leave, the skipper got a call at 0100 hrs and had to sail by 1600 hours the same day !!!. They scratched together a crew at very short notice and set off, the helo embarked at sea when underway. They picked up the French sailor on the way before continuing south towards Antarctica. I think they took 5 - 7 days to get there in some very rough seas from memory. Two other ships, one navy, one private were also used to replenish the HMAS Adelaide at sea which meant she could run at full speed the whole way there and back.
They were 1400 nm south of Perth so at a minimum 2800 nm !
It cost Australia a packet !
They also used 5 x P3 Orions with 6 crew to provide an almost continuous presence over the French Yachtsman,
a total of 158 flying hours.
Last edited by 500N; 20th May 2014 at 07:32.