During a part of the course that required teams to split into pairs, Alfred, a 32-year-old police constable, was swimming with Wild when he became unbearably nauseous, vomiting uncontrollably. The pair swam ashore to assess the situation. "He couldn't even keep water down," said Wild.

Short on supplies and energy, and with Alfred's dreadful condition showing no signs of improvement, the beached pair had two options: call for an emergency medical rescue – and face automatic disqualification – or try to wait out the terrible sickness.

"All the water that I've been drinking has been bottled," he said, resting safely in headquarters (PC12). "And it wasn't dehydration."

After assessing their food and water situation, the couple made the difficult decision to call race headquarters on their emergency radio. "We didn't have a chance really," said Alfred, explaining that they didn't have sufficient supplies to survive long enough, especially considering his ailing health.

Alfred was picked up by a rescue boat and brought to race headquarters, where he received medical attention. But the cause of his violent sickness remains somewhat of a mystery. "All the water that I've been drinking has been bottled," he said, resting safely in headquarters (PC12). "And it wasn't dehydration."

Alfred – and race medical staff – thinks he may have swallowed some dirty water during the ocean swim, but no final diagnosis has been verified. "It wasn't seasickness, because he's our water guy," explained Wild.

Though the team was officially disqualified, the threesome (without Alfred) continued on through the night, finishing the 116-kilometer sailing leg at about 1:00 p.m. Alfred met his teammates at the water's edge and helped them carry their Perahu canoe onshore.

The team hopes to continue on as a foursome, though, because of the rescue, they will not finish as an officially ranked team. Early Wednesday afternoon, Alfred was looking and feeling fairly healthy, but was still hesitant about continuing. "We'll see how it goes," explained Alfred, who raced with Wild and team captain Ralph Stringer at the Eco-Challenge in 1996. "At least it's only coming out one end now."

Alfred says his team has been supportive throughout the ordeal. "We're not here to win the race," he said. "We just want to finish."

"We're hoping he'll be able to continue on with us because he's our helmsman," said Wild, readying her bike in the transition area.