Around the world sailor Keith Kilpatrick, who fell seriously ill due to a blocked intestine, was discharged from an Australian hospital today after being rescued from his yacht overnight.
But despite being very weak after losing 10 kilograms (22 pounds), the American said he would rejoin his yacht Amer Sports One for the next leg of the Volvo Ocean Race.
"I just got a pretty clean bill of health from the hospital. I'm just weak," Kilpatrick told Reuters from the fishing port of Albany in the southwest corner of Australia.
"I have lost 10 kilos. I am only good for 15 minutes and then I am absolutely knackered, I get dizzy, I just have to sit down and rest," said Kilpatrick, who weighs 84 kilograms (185 pounds).
"I have six days to recuperate to the level that the guys will be in when they get into Sydney next week. We are in a very fortunate time as we spend 40 out of the next 50 days on land."
After the second leg Cape Town to Sydney, the Volvo yachts have some 20 days before they compete in the relatively short Sydney-Hobart race down Australia's east coast.
They then sail across the Tasman Sea to Auckland, where they spend another 20 days before the big third leg to Rio de Janeiro.