DAKAR, May 7, 2006 (AFP) - A man attempting to row across the Atlantic from Senegal to New York in memory of victims of the slave trade and to raise money to fight AIDS watched his boat sink when he was rescued on Sunday after it sprang a leak, police told AFP.
Victor Mooney, a 41-year-old New Yorker, set off from the island of Goree off Dakar on Sunday morning planning to row 8,000 miles (12,900 kilometres) via South America and the Caribbean in a 24-foot (7.3 metre) boat.
The Senegalese navy received a distress call from Mooney about an hour into his journey and contacted police who sent rescuers, said a police officer who took part in the rescue and asked not to be named.
"We rerouted the tugboat to bring help (to Mooney). We tried to tow the boat, but we couldn't because it was taking water," the officer said.
Rescuers retrieved important items from Mooney's boat and brought the rower back to port. The officer described Mooney as "safe and well".
The Internet site dedicated to Mooney's project confirmed the sinking. It said the boat had been damaged while being launched weeks earlier in Dakar and not properly repaired.
Mooney said before setting off that his voyage aimed to raise awareness of his ancestors, slaves who died during the transatlantic slave trade that ended on a large scale in the 19th century. He also aimed to attract donations to fight HIV/AIDS in Africa.
Before the trip he set up an Internet site where people also make donations. He also visited the nearby UNESCO World Heritage site House of Slaves where he paid tribute to slaves who were held prisoner there on the trafficking route.
The voyage was to take seven or eight months. Mooney had planned to declare it over when he reached New York's Brooklyn Bridge.
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