P.E.I. man sailing around world rescued from hurricane

A P.E.I. man sailing around the world was rescued by first responders Wednesday morning along with other sailors at a club near the waterfront in Horta, in the Azores.

The swell from Hurricane Lorenzo threatened the building and Alan Mulholland along with others had to be rescued.

He sailed his eight-metre boat from the island of Flores to nearby Horta to get away from the eye of the Category 2 hurricane, but Horta still saw the effects of the storm. 

It was about 1:30 a.m. when Mulholland said he left his boat, Wave Rover, in search of shelter but when he arrived at the local boat club, it was locked. 

He said he then received a call from a friend who invited him to stay over. After arriving at his friend's place, Mulholland said he managed to get a couple of hours sleep before he was suddenly woken up.

"We heard this massive bang. And what happened was that a wave broke through the outer storm door, heavy gauge aluminum, and knocked the inner door, a proper wooden door ... right off its hinges. That door flew up and hit the ceiling," he said.

"If anybody was in that room, it's hard to say you'd live through that."

Once Mulholland and his friend decided to peer outside it was already dawn. 

"We could see the street was just covered in water, cobblestone was ripped off the street because it's an old area. And the sea was just raging, coming over the seawall," he said. 

Mulholland and his friend put the door back up as best they could to keep the weather out. Shortly after, Mulholland said emergency responders arrived and took them to a community centre. 

Journey will continue

Mulholland said he has been able to check Wave Rover and it did not sustain any damage.

"I was very anxious about that because if Wave Rover was damaged badly, the trip is over for me," Mulholland said.

Mulholland left Summerside in July and arrived in the Azores late in August for rest and repairs.

Mulholland said he plans to continue his journey in about three weeks, headed for the Canary Islands. 

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