Rower rescued by Filipino seafarers meets with Pope Francis

Don Victor Mooney presents Pope Francis with a wetsuit at the Vatican on World AIDS Day (December 1, 2021). CONTRIBUTED

Transatlantic rower Don Victor Mooney of Queens, New York, who was rescued by Filipino seafarers in the Atlantic Ocean, attended Pope Francis’ General Audience on World AIDS Day, December 1, 2021. Mooney was joined with his family.

After surviving 14 days in a life raft after his rowboat sank near Cape Verde, Mooney was rescued by MV Norfolk, a 288 meter bulk carrier flying the Cypriot flag on his third attempt to row across the Atlantic Ocean in 2011 near Cape Verde.

Filipino seafarers on watch spotted Mooney in the life raft. The MV Norfolk is operated by Diana Shipping based in Athens, Greece. Mooney was later transported to Brazil, then he flew back to New York.

On a fourth try, Mooney completed a transatlantic row from Maspalomas, Gran Canaria, a part of Spain’s Canary Islands to New York’s Brooklyn Bridge in 2015.

Filipino seafarers that spotted Don Victor Mooney in the Atlantic Ocean (March 11, 2011). Mooney boards MV Norfolk in the Atlantic Ocean after clinging to a life raft for 14 days (March 11, 2011). CONTRIBUTED

His mission was to encourage HIV testing and took 21 months with many challenges. “If it wasn’t for the Filipino Seafarers, I wouldn’t be here today,” said Don Victor Mooney.

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