Naval commander Abhilash Tomy, who was rescued from international waters earlier this week, on Wednesday thanked the Indian Navy and sailors from other countries for saving him.

“The sea was unbelievably rough. Me and my boat, Thuriya, were pitched against nature’s might. I survived because of my sailing skills. The soldier bit in me and my naval training cut in for that fight. Very thankful to the Indian Navy & all who rescued me,” Tomy was quoted as saying by the Indian Navy’s official twitter handle.

Tomy is currently recovering at a hospital in Amsterdam Isle in the Indian Ocean.

Tomy was stranded in the South Indian Ocean while taking part in the Golden Globe Race. He suffered a back injury on Friday after his yacht was demasted in a severe storm. The Navy’s P8I aircraft, which flew from Mauritius early on Sunday, located the “mast broken boat rolling excessively”.

Tomy, who was the first Indian to circumnavigate the globe in 2013, was the only Indian participating in the race, which involves a 30,000-mile solo circumnavigation of the globe.