The man who attempted to sail around the world in a Gozo-built yacht encountered difficulties at sea 500 miles off of the coast of Chile and was rescued by Chilean trawler Polar Pesca 1 on Friday.

Forty-seven-year-old Ken Barnes wanted to become the first American to sail non-stop around the world solo from the West Coast. But his attempt to sail around the globe in the 44-foot yacht ended after the boat suffered severe damages in a strong storm.

The Newport Beach, California resident had sailed on 28 October.

A Chilean navy plane guided the trawler to the disabled yacht, using a flare fired by Barnes as its beacon. In the past days, a 570-foot ship registered in Malta was also en route to Mr Barnes.

In the storm the boat, called Privateer, suffered a broken mast, lost all steering and power and developed a leaking hatch. According to Press-Telegram.com Mr Barnes set off his emergency position-indicating radio beacon on Tuesday, notifying the United States Coast Guard by satellite that he was in trouble.