Rescue of French yachtsman off Tasmania underway (VIDEO)

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The rescue of a French yachtsman stranded at sea is underway by Australian authorities.

Alain Delord, 63, an experienced sailor, was on a solo around-the-world trip when he had to abandon ship Friday hundreds of miles off Tasmania, reported Sail World.

Delord is on a life boat facing over 20 foot waves and freezing temperatures.

"He is a very experienced sailor," a spokeswoman for the Australian Maritime Safety Authority told AFP.

"Obviously he got into some trouble on Friday. An associate of his in France made contact with us."

Australian authorities have asked a research boat to divert from its course to rescue the sailor.

The MV Orion, which is 11 days into an 18-day Antarctic tour was asked to attempt to rescue Delord and could reach him as early as 6 pm Sunday. 

Authorities say the situation still remains dangerous.

"Providing we can locate him – and that's a very big if – the plan is to put the ship as close to the raft as we can and launch a Zodiac," Mr Taylor said, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

"The Zodiac is about the same height as a raft, so it's a simple case of tethering the two together and pulling him into the Zodiac. That's it in a nutshell.

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