RESCUED French sailor Alain Delord has recuperated with steak and red wine aboard the Antarctic cruise ship Orion as he heads to Hobart to be reunited with his family.
Mr Delord is expected to arrive in Hobart on Tuesday morning after he was picked up by the 4000-tonne cruise ship in a dramatic operation 500 nautical miles south of Tasmania.
The 63-year-old solo round-the-world yachtsman was rescued by a Zodiac inflatable launched from the liner on Sunday night after spending three nights adrift on a raft.
He is in good spirits and health with only superficial injuries to his hands, an Australian Maritime Safety Authority spokesperson (AMSA) said, and will be welcomed to Hobart by family who are believed to be flying in from France.
"Alain has had a good night resting," Orion expedition leaders Don and Margie McIntyre posted on the ship's Facebook site.
"He has ordered a steak for lunch!!
"His hands are a slightly swollen and some joints a little stiff, but he is walking around his suite."
Earlier, Mr Delord enjoyed French onion soup and red wine for the first time since he set sail last October.
The Orion, which reached him after an alert 53 hours before, launched its rescue boat in swells up to four metres and poor visibility after an AMSA-organised Hercules aircraft had dropped flares to help guide the crew.
"It was unbelievable how difficult he was to see," Orion captain Mike Taylor told the ABC.
AMSA praised the crew of the ship, which diverted its 100 passengers from their trip to Macquarie Island to exercise its international obligations by going to the yachtsman's aid.
"The Orion crew and the master displayed exemplary seamanship by effecting this rescue," spokesperson Jo Meehan told AAP.
"They were in a vessel that is not designed for search and rescue, they were in pretty rough conditions, they were coming to the end of the daylight and they were pretty much looking for a needle in a haystack."
Ms Meehan said the Orion had been the closest ship to respond to the emergency call.
She said AMSA flights had attempted to find a closer vessel but could not confirm a possibility Chinese fishing boats were in the area.
"At no point can we suggest they deliberately ignored us," Ms Meehan said.
AMSA is yet to calculate the cost of the rescue but said it fell within its budget for search and rescue operations.
"AMSA is funded for search and rescue. It's an Australian government international obligation that we meet," Ms Meehan said.
"We don't take into account cost while we're trying to save somebody's life."
The Orion will not receive any compensation for its efforts.
Mr Delord abandoned his yacht Tchouk Tchouk Nougat after the mast broke into four pieces and its hull was damaged in rough weather.
The yachtsman had received an air drop of food, water, communications equipment and a survival suit while he waited for rescue.
"He has just one personal item left - a small knife, and of course his thermal underwear, but no passport but Immigration should understand!!" the Facebook post said.
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