Santiago, Chile - An American sailor was rescued early Friday after three days adrift on a disabled yacht in treacherous seas off the southern tip of South America, the Chilean navy said. Ken Barnes, 47, was picked up shortly before 6 a.m. EST by the Chilean trawler Polar Pesca 1, the navy’s Operations Department reported in Punta Arenas, on Chile’s southwestern tip. An officer who asked not to be identified in line with the department’s rules said by telephone that Barnes was in good condition. A navy plane guided the trawler to the disabled yacht, using a flare fired by Barnes as its beacon. At first the pilots only saw the flare. Then they spotted sailor wearing a yellow jacket and waving to the plane. The trawler sent four men on an inflatable boat to pick up the sailor. The navy officer said Barnes would be taken to Punta Arenas, a trip that could last up to two days, depending on the weather. The fishing vessel had a paramedic team, food and fresh clothing on board. Barnes left Long Beach, Calif., on Oct. 28 in the Privateer, a 44-foot ketch. He hoped to be the first solo sailor from the West Coast to circumnavigate the globe. But about a week ago he ran into a fierce storm that broke both the vessel’s masts and its hatches, disabled the steering and soaked Barnes’ supplies and food. The U.S. Coast Guard and Chilean maritime officials picked up signals from his distress beacon Tuesday afternoon, just minutes after Barnes called his girlfriend on his satellite phone to report he was in trouble. A Chilean navy search plane spotted Barnes about 500 miles off the Chilean coast around 5 p.m. Wednesday and dropped a life raft that missed the boat, said Barnes’ longtime girlfriend, Cathy Chambers. The trawler, at the time about 300 miles away, was dispatched to the scene as two Chilean planes hovered over the boat to keep it in sight. During the ordeal Barnes wore a survival suit to keep him warm and survived on Pop Tarts and granola bars.