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SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS/BCN) -- Rescue crews from the U.S. Coast Guard were headed toward a man competing in a sailing contest from San Francisco to Hawaii who reported early Friday morning that his boat is partially disabled and he is "exhausted," officials said.
The man is sailing a 48-foot boat as part of the 2008 Singlehanded Transpacific Yacht Race from San Francisco to Hanalei Bay, Kauai, Coast Guard officials said. The race began on July 12, and the participant made it around 175 miles before he began to have problems, search and rescue specialist Joseph Ford said.
"Rescue boats should reach him around 1 a.m.," Ford said. "His communications are down, so we don't have any way to contact him, but his distress beacon is emitting information and giving us his location."
The boat's radio is only transmitting short distances, so it contacted radios on passing boats or planes, but could not reach radios stationed on land in the Bay Area.
Once a rescue boat reaches him they will tow his boat back to the Bay Area, Ford said. Officials will have more information on the sailor's condition early Saturday morning when they reach the boat, he added.
The 2,200-mile sailing contest organized by the Singlehanded Sailing Society in San Francisco requires a single crewmember to travel the distance, according to the organization's Web site.
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