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All crew aboard distressed ships in transatlantic race safe

The HMCS Charlottetown, along with other Canadian military assets, assisted in rescuing multiple vessels in distress 1,667 km off the coast of Newfoundland. Alexa MacLean/Global News

The Halifax-based joint rescue co-ordination centre says all crew aboard four storm-battered vessels that had been racing across the Atlantic Ocean are safe.

A spokeswoman for the centre says crew on two sailboats that put out distress calls Thursday were rescued Saturday morning, while a third boat made its way to calmer waters.

Maj. Rhonda Stevens says the cruise liner Queen Mary II picked up a British sailor from a de-masted yacht and is en route to Halifax.

READ MORE: HMCS Charlottetown, Canadian Coast Guard and Air Force responding to vessels in distress

She says two Dutch sailors rescued from another vessel in the mid-Atlantic are on a tanker headed towards the Bahamas.

She says a fourth vessel in the race declared a state of emergency on Saturday when it started taking on water, and the two Bulgarian sailors on board have been rescued and are on a research
vessel headed to St. John’s, N.L.

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Rescue officials say the vessels racing between Plymouth, England, and Newport, R.I., encountered very heavy weather late Thursday about 1,660 kilometres east of Newfoundland.

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