Man Stopped From Making Trans-Atlantic Trip in 14ft Dinghy

A Bulgarian man was only a few miles into a 3,000-mile voyage to America when British rescue crews thwarted his trip off the southern English coast on August 16.

A crew from Britain’s Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI)were dispatched to investigate reports of a 14ft dinghy having difficulty in strong winds three miles off of Hengistbury Head, United Kingdom. The man aboard the boat had purchased the dinghy earlier that day and told rescue workers he intended on sailing to America. The RNLI said the man was “exceedingly cold, wet” and “violently ill,” but refused assistance. The rescue crews eventually transferred the man to the lifeboat and brought him to ashore to a waiting ambulance. It was not clear why the man was trying to travel to the US but did have a US visa among his belongings, according to reports. Credit: RNLI