Exhausted bird given refuge aboard Fujitsu British Soldier as Army Sailing Association crew races towards Cowes

 

Image: Sergeant Mark Petherbridge and Captain Tom Court with the rescued barn owl on Fujitsu British Soldier - whilst competing in the RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race © Fujitsu British Soldier

 

An unexpected crew member joined the British Army Sailing Association’s Sun Fast 3600 Fujitsu British Soldier for the final stages of the 50th Anniversary RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race. The exhausted barn owl has now been rescued 70 nautical miles offshore, to the east of Newcastle.

 

The unusual encounter happened as the team raced south towards Cowes in the 1,805-nautical-mile non-stop race around Britain and Ireland. With just 170 nautical miles remaining, the crew were nursing their unlikely passenger back to health before handing her over to a specialist wildlife rescue team.

 

Skipper Will Naylor first alerted the RORC Race Team to their new crew member in a message sent from offshore:

 

“We have an extra crew member for the latter parts of the race. An exhausted barn owl that we are nursing back to health. It’s currently sleeping soundly and recovering. Found 70 miles offshore.” With the team joking that they should finish with the same number of crew as they started, Naylor added: “Someone is going to have to walk the plank!”

 

The rescue itself was anything but straightforward. The exhausted owl first attempted to land on the head of one of the crew members but lost her grip. She then tried to land on the top of the mast, only to fall into the sea three times.

 

“We thought we’d lost her, but she kept fighting her way back up and to the boat,” explained Sergeant Mark Petherbridge, 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (2 PARA): “Eventually she flopped onto the side deck where we threw a towel over her.”

 

The crew named the determined bird Little Reg, a nickname traditionally given to soldiers in the regiment, inspired by her refusal to give up. “Turns out he is a she! So maybe Little Regina,” Petherbridge, joked.

 

Once the crew had safely taken the owl aboard, the team began coordinating a rescue operation with wildlife specialists onshore.

 

The team then contacted James and Lowenna at the Barn Owl Trust, who worked to contact several agencies to coordinate the rescue and collection of the bird. They subsequently liaised with Dan Goldsmith of Marine and Wildlife Rescue, who spent much of the night planning the boat’s arrival near Great Yarmouth and arranging for the owl to be collected.

The rescue was ultimately coordinated with the Caister Lifeboat team, an independent lifeboat organisation (NILA), which came out to collect the bird.

 

For the Fujitsu British Soldier crew, however, the rescue has added an unexpected twist to the final chapter of their Round Britain and Ireland Race.

 

After days of racing around the British Isles, the Army Sailing Association crew are now within 170 nautical miles of the finish in Cowes, where they will finally be able tell the full story of their remarkable ‘extra crew member’ to the RORC Race Team. The 50th Anniversary RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race sees the fleet tackle a 1,805-nautical-mile non-stop course from Cowes around Britain and Ireland and back to Cowes, testing crews against some of the most challenging offshore conditions in the UK.

 

For Little Reg - or perhaps Little Regina - the race has become an altogether more unexpected adventure, and he is now safely at RSPCA East Winch Wildlife Centre to recover after her extraordinary journey offshore.

 

“We are very grateful to all who collaborated to ensure the barn owl made it safely to the East Winch Wildlife Centre this morning,” said Dan Goldsmith of Marine and Wildlife Rescue. “The crew on Fujitsu British Soldier did an amazing job keeping it stable, and particular thanks to the Caister Independent Lifeboat who did not hesitate to participate in today's rescue.”

 

Many thanks from race organisers - The Royal Ocean Racing Club (RORC) to the crew of the British Army Sailing Association’s Fujitsu British Soldier and all those who collaborated to rescue one of the UK’s protected species:

 

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