On August 22, a British Army sailing team participating in one of the toughest yacht races had an unexpected adventure 70 nautical miles from shore when a tired barn owl attempted to join them.
The owl's arrival on the Fujitsu British Soldier during the 50th Anniversary RORC Round Britain and Ireland Race led to a coordinated effort between the military crew and several wildlife organizations, all while they continued their journey to the finish line at Cowes.
“We have an extra crew member for the latter parts of the race: an exhausted barn owl that we are trying to help recover,” said skipper Will Naylor to race officials, adding humorously about their concern for finishing the race with their original crew: “Someone is going to have to walk the plank!”
The owl's entry onto the boat was quite clumsy. After trying and failing to land on a crew member's head and falling into the sea three times, the bird finally settled on the deck, where the sailors wrapped it in a towel to secure it.
“We thought we had lost her, but she kept trying to get back to the boat,” explained Sergeant Mark Petherbridge from the 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment. The crew first named their new passenger “Little Reg” but later changed it to “Little Regina.”
The rescue involved the Barn Owl Trust, Marine and Wildlife Rescue, and Caister Independent Lifeboat, which took the bird for transfer to a wildlife center while the Army Sailing Association team continued their 1,805-nautical-mile journey.
In the race, Johnny Vincent’s Volvo 70 Pace recently beat Palanad 4 on corrected time to win the top prize for overall IRC victory on Wednesday, after already claiming Monohull Line Honours earlier in the week.
The race, which started from the Royal Yacht Squadron in Cowes on August 9, featured 33 boats and 182 crew members from 22 different countries.