A man�s attempt to sail around the world in a 44-foot ketch built in Gozo has come to a sudden end after the boat suffered severe damages in a strong storm 500 miles off the coast of Chile.
 47-year-old Ken Barnes from Newport Beach, California in the United States of America left for the trip on the 28th October before his journey was cut short on Tuesday. The man, located by a Chilean P-3 aircraft, is currently awaiting to be rescued by a commercial fishing vessel called Polar Pesca I, said Examiner.com. A Chilean naval tug, along with a 570-foot civilian vessel from Malta were also en route to Mr. Barnes in the past days.
In the storm the boat, called Privateer, suffered a broken mast, lost all steering and power and developed a leaking hatch. According to Press-Telegram.com Mr. Barnes set off his emergency position-indicating radio beacon Tuesday, notifying the United States Coast Guard by satellite that he was in trouble.
Mr. Barnes was seeking to become the first American to sail nonstop around the world solo from the West Coast, according to Andy Turpin, an editor who interviewed the sailor for magazine Latitude 38.
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