Japan Coast Guard via EPA

The Japanese Coast Guard rescues British adventurer Sarah Outen from her boat Gulliver about 500 miles east off Japan's northeastern coast, Friday.

A solo Pacific rower caught in a tropical storm for 30 hours was rescued Friday, her support team said on her website, while another stricken solo oarsman waited for help.

British rower Sarah Outen, 27, said her 23-foot boat, named Gulliver, had been "capsizing, capsizing, capsizing" in the "merciless" storm, leaving her "exhausted," in a phone message that was posted on the Internet.

"After, I don't know, 32 hours, 30-something hours, of waiting in the roughest, most frightening weather I've ever been in, I'm very happy to say we're close to being taken out of here," she said, shortly before being picked up by a Japanese Coast Guard vessel.

"I say we, but actually it will just be me, I think, because Gulliver will probably have to stay afloat and look after himself for a while because the seas are currently too rough to be able to pick him up onto the boat," she added.

Japan Coast Guard via EPA

Sarah Outen, 27, center, was rescued after her boat got damaged by a tropical storm.

Japanese Coast Guard had been "wonderful" and "very supportive," she added, also thanking her team and others who offered messages of encouragement that she would get to a "happier, better place."

A message posted on her website a short time later said that "Sarah is now safe aboard the recovery vessel." 

Solo Pacific rower hopes for rescue after boat is rolled by tropical storm

Outen's Pacific row was one leg of a round-the-world journey by bicycle, rowing boat and kayak that started on April 1 last year.

Japan Coast Guard via EPA

Sarah Outen's abandoned boat Gulliver floats in front of a ship after she was rescued by the Japan Coast Guard.

Fellow British Rower Charlie Martell was also awaiting rescue in his boat Blossom, according to the Pacific2012.com website. Martell was approximately 280 miles northeast of Outen. 

"Strong winds and heavy seas led to the repeated capsize of his boat Blossom," the website said. "She then pitch-poled, causing structural damage and leaving Charlie no choice but to abort the voyage and call for assistance ... Charlie is unhurt and still on-board Blossom."

"A fast patrol vessel is on its way to Charlie's location and is expected to arrive alongside him at approximately 0200hrs on 9 June," it added.

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Updated at 10:30 a.m. ET: A fishing vessel set adrift by the tsunami in Japan has sunk in the Gulf of Alaska after a cutter fired at it, The Coast Guard said.

Petty Officer David Moseley told msnbc.com that the vessel caught fire and took on water after the Coast Guard Cutter Anacapa fired its 25mm cannon at the derelict ship on Thursday, aiming to sink what it called a threat to shipping.

The ship sank to the bottom of the ocean after it was pummeled at by high-explosive ammunition, the Vancouver Sun reported Friday morning. Explosives were fired at the stricken vessel in a "slow and deliberate" manner to ensure accuracy, Veronica Colbath, Coast Guard public affairs officer, said, The Sun reported.

It took about four hours for the ship to vanish into the water, said Chief Petty Officer Kip Wadlow in Juneau. It sank into waters more than 6,000 feet deep, about 180 miles west of the southeast Alaska coast, the Coast Guard said.

Citing a Coast Guard spokesman, the Associated Press reported the firing began after a brief delay caused by a Canadian ship that wanted to salvage the Ryou-un Maru -- but then quickly found it it wasn't able to tow it back to shore.

Besides clearing a shipping lane, sinking the nearly 200-foot-long vessel provides the Anacapa crew "a great way for them to put their skills to use," Coast Guard spokesman Kip Wadlow told msnbc.com from Juneau, Alaska.

Wadlow said the drifting vessel makes shipping in the area extremely dangerous. "There's no crew on board, it doesn't have any light ...  and it's in a high volume shipping lane," he noted.

The fishing boat, which was in port waiting to be scrapped when the tsunami took it out to sea, is far enough away that any fuel on board would not make it to shore, Wadlow added. The Coast Guard later elaborated that it appeared to be carrying little fuel since it was riding high in the water, the AP reported.

A Coast Guard C-130 was flying over the area to warn away any nearby ships for what is described as a "live fire exercise."

More photos of the Ryou-un Maru sinking

Dropping crews aboard the boat is too dangerous, Wadlow said, and "the owner no longer wants it."

But that didn't stop the Bernice C from trying to make some money off the rusty vessel.

Based in Petersburg, Alaska, the Anacapa arrived Wednesday night alongside the Ryou-un Maru, which entered U.S. waters on April 1. The ship was moored at a harbor in Hachinohe, Japan, when the earthquake and tsunami hit on March 11, 2011.

The vessel is the first large object to reach North America following the tsunami. Smaller objects have been found on U.S. coasts but much more debris is expected to make its way via currents to U.S. and Canadian beaches by 2014.

State officials have been working with federal counterparts to gauge the danger of debris including material affected by a damaged nuclear power plant, to see if Alaska residents, seafood or wild game could be affected.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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U.S. Navy

In this picture issued by the U.S. Navy, the crew of a U.S. Coast Guard vessel provide help to Iranian mariners after their boat started taking on water.

A U.S. Coast Guard ship helped six Iranian sailors Tuesday after their cargo vessel began taking on water, marking the second time in less than a week that the American military has come to the aid of Iranians at sea.

The patrol boat Monomoy, which is assigned to Task Force 55 in the Persian Gulf (also known as the Arabian Gulf), saw distress flares coming from the dhow Ya-Hussayn during the night early Tuesday, according to a statement issued by the U.S. Fifth Fleet.

"The dhow's master requested assistance from Monomoy indicating the engine room was flooding and deemed not seaworthy," it added.

U.S. Navy

After they were rescued, the Iranian mariners were provided with Halal food in accordance with Islamic custom.

"Monomoy immediately launched their small boat and approached the Ya-Hussayn. Two persons were rescued from the vessel, and four from a life raft tied off to the dhow's stern," it said.

The statement said the men were given water, blankets, and Halal meals "in accordance with Islamic law."

The rescue was another reminder of U.S. efforts to demonstrate the humanitarian value of its naval presence in the Gulf, a strategic waterway that the Iranian government has threatened to close in retaliation for international sanctions over its nuclear program.

Last Thursday, the U.S. Navy rescued 13 Iranian fishermen who had been held captive by pirates in the northern Arabian Sea, just outside the Gulf, for more than 40 days. That happened just days after Tehran warned the United States to keep its warships out of the Gulf. The fishermen were sent on their way and the 15 pirates were taken aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis.

Dead 'without your help'
In its statement, Naval Forces Central Command quoted the dhow's owner, identified as Hakim Hamid-Awi, as telling the Americans, "Without your help, we were dead. Thank you for all that you did for us."

Iran welcomes US rescue of fisherman from pirates

One Iranian was treated for injuries that were described as "not serious" and the sailors were later transferred to an Iranian Coast Guard vessel, the statement said.

U.S. Navy Captain Edward Cashman, Commander of Task Force 55, said Monomoy had "displayed exceptional skill and professionalism during the night time rescue."

Boatswain Mate 2nd Class Emily Poole, Monomoy's medic, said they were just doing their job.

"Saving lives is the last thing you expect to do at 0300 while patrolling in the Northern Arabian Gulf, but being in the Coast Guard, that's what we are trained to do," she said, according to the statement.

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