One crewman was knocked overboard in heavy seas, whilst the
other two competing craft were towed after engine failure and a ‘general
battering’ from the conditions.

“Luckily the man overboard was wearing a lifejacket and
other crew members were about to reach him,” Lynda Bell from Humber Coastguard
told the Guardian.

The first yacht Martinez
declared a Mayday after getting into trouble North of Scarborough. After
dropping anchor, the crew revealed they were no longer in imminent danger and
their Mayday call was downgraded.

When the all weather Scarborough lifeboat Fanny Victoria
Wilkinson & Frank Stubbs was en route
to rescue Martinez, they received
an alert that a man from another yacht had gone overboard. They were diverted
to rescue the crew of Shameless,
who had managed to get the man back on board just before the lifeboat arrived.

The man had spent so long in the water that he was taken to
hospital by helicopter.

RNLI lifeboat George and Mary Webb began towing Shameless to Scarborough, whilst the lifeboat returned to help
Martinez.

It was then that the third yacht Bandit requested assistance. She was helped by Whitby
Lifeboat and towed back to Scarborough Harbour.