remarkable story...sailor adrift for days 3500 miles from home,
rescued by neighbor:

http://www.metro.co.uk/news/article....&in_page_id=34

British sailor who was adrift in the Caribbean for two days without
food was shocked when his mayday was answered - by a neighbour.

Yachtsman John Fildes made a distress call after his vessel - named
Dangerous When Wet - lost its sails in a storm.

He was rescued off Puerto Rico by the 113,000-tonne superliner Crown
Princess captained by Alistair Clark - who lives just around the
corner from him in Warsash, Hampshire.

Mr Fildes, 32, said: 'What Captain Clark did was amazing. It was
extremely dangerous and incredibly delicate because of the relative
sizes of the two vessels and the stormy sea.

'It was like parking a 4x4 next to a Dinky car on an oil field. My
yacht could have been dashed to pieces.

'When I was aboard Captain Clark said he lived round the corner. It's
bizarre he picked me up 6,500km from home - maybe it was fate.'

Mr Fildes had given up hope of reaching Bermuda from another island
because of illness and exhaustion and was drifting into the Atlantic.

#It was a pretty desolate place - there's not a lot out there,' he
added.

Speaking after the rescue, Capt Clark said: 'I was glad to lend
assistance, especially to someone who lives around the corner.'

A Princess Cruises spokesman said: 'The seas are very big and for two
people to meet randomly at sea is rare. However, this is unique as
they live a mile apart.

'They didn't know each other before but they do now.'