Long-Distance Rower Rescued After 10 Months At Sea

Alex Bellini, an Italian adventurer known for rowing the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, was rescued Saturday just 65 nautical miles short of his intended destination of Australia.

After nearly a 10,000 nautical mile journey starting from the shores of Peru over the span of 10 months, bad weather forced him to use his satellite phone and summon authorities, who towed Bellini and his 25 foot boat to Newcastle. Alex reunited with a tearful wife and told the Associated Press, “I miss my bed. I miss my home, I need to go back and settle down.” The couple plans to return to Trieste, Italy within the next week.

Bellini insisted that his trip wasn’t about breaking records, but testing his own limits. He survived on dried foods and desalinated sea water. He even had a small cooker to fry fish and boil pasta! Out at sea Alex yearned for sweet foods and the company of his wife Francesca. Although he returned haggard and exhausted, Alex Bellini was in high spirits. Currently, he doesn’t have any plans for another excursion at sea.