The Philip B. Petersen Collection Broadcast December 6, 1989

     Radio amateur Albert Wilson, VE3OBH, of Wellington, Ontario, planed for an adventure he will never forget.  Al was 63 years old.  He didn't have any family but he had a lot of amateur radio friends.  In the summer of 1989 he set sail in his 30-foot sloop from Sherburne, Nova Scotia, for the Azores on what was to be a voyage alone around the world.  He took his amateur radio set along to keep in touch with his radio friends.  One evening when he was about 600 miles from the Azores, the weather was very warm and he was completely nude while preparing supper.
     All of a sudden, the alcohol stove blew up and he was covered with flames and severely burned over his arms, chest, stomach and legs.  In severe pain, he barely was able to get his amateur radio set on to give an emergency call for help.  Lorne Bowers, VE2AII, at Prince Edward Island, was the first to hear him.  Bowers notified the Canadian Coast Guard, who alerted the New York headquarters Rescue Service.  They keep track of ships in the Atlantic and alerted several ships to aid in the rescue.  Darkness came and throughout the night Lorne Bowers and others stayed at their radios providing medical information, relaying rescue messages and giving encouragement as the search for his small boat continued.
     The next morning a rescue aircraft spotted the sloop and offered to drop food and water, but due to Al's condition he was not able to retrieve it.  The plane then dropped several flares and smoke bombs to mark the location and notified a ship where to find him.  Hours later, on July 13, 1989, the ship Charlotte Lykes rescued him, and many radio amateurs who were assisting and anxiously listening were thrilled to hear the good news.
     Al Wilson was in very poor condition from the fire, so the ship captain changed course and headed for Newfoundland, where a rescue helicopter picked him up and flew him to the hospital in St. John's, Newfoundland.  While there, he was visited daily by amateur radio friends.
     After this hazardous experience, Al Wilson, VE3OBH, will probably do his sailing around the world on the radio waves.

December 6, 1989

** Broadcasts recordings preserved and presented here by Mr. Robert Buss and Mr. Bernie Ricciardi, Phil's friends and fellow Marconi Chapter 138 QCWA members **

Page updated January 12, 2004  page created June 11, 2001