HALIFAX — An unmanned solar-powered kayak that spent the last week alone and adrift off the Atlantic coast has been rescued by the Canadian Navy.
Navy officials say HMCS St. John's made a slight diversion early Wednesday while sailing to its namesake port in Newfoundland and Labrador to pluck the kayak out of the ocean.
The Solar Voyager set off from Gloucester, Mass., on June 1 in a bid to become the first autonomous boat to make the transatlantic voyage.
But according to its Twitter feed, the four-metre-long kayak stopped responding on June 23 and the project team reported one motor and the rudder were not working, speculating it had been snarled in fishing gear.
Sub.-Lt. Blair Gilmore says the navy has been aware of the Solar Voyager's plight and exploring opportunities to help, and on Wednesday determined HMCS St. John's was close enough to grab the boat.
He says the navy is in contact with the project team to determine how to get the Solar Voyager back to them.
