A lone yachtsman, who had become disorientated after being caught in stormy weather, has been rescued off the coast of Wales
A solo skipper, whose yacht had suffered engine failure and had become disorientated in stormy weather, has been rescued off the coast of Wales.
The UK Coastguard received a faint Pan Pan broadcast just after midnight yesterday (17 August).
The sailor, who was en route from Great Orme Head in north Wales to the Mull of Galloway in south west Scotland, said he was in no danger and did not need immediate assistance, but he had become disorientated after the storm and his 29ft yacht had suffered engine failure.
The yacht’s VHF radio had also broken in the storm and he was relying on a hand held radio with limited signal strength.
The yacht was located quickly. Credit: MCA
He said he was around 10 miles from the coast but could not say exactly where.
The Coastguard was able to establish that the yacht was somewhere near Colwyn Bay.
Coastguard Rescue Teams from Llandudno, Cemaes Bay and Penmon were sent to the Welsh coast to see if they could see his vessel from the shoreline.
The UK Coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Caernarfon joined the search later in the morning and found the yacht within five minutes of starting the search, 10 nautical miles north east of Anglesey.
The helicopter crew were able to make contact with him via his hand-held radio and he confirmed again that he was not in need of medical assistance.
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Once his exact position was established, the Llandudno RNLI Lifeboat was able to assist the yacht back to Colwyn Bay.
Commenting on the rescue, Aircraft Captain John McIntyre from the Caernarfon Coastguard helicopter said:”This was very good result. Obviously this was a very tired sailor, who had been caught in rough seas and stormy weather the night before.”
“Luckily, within five minutes of initiating our search pattern we spotted the yacht and were able to establish contact with him.”
“We were relieved to hear that he was safe and well, despite his ordeal.We relayed his position back to the Coastguard so that they could send a lifeboat there to assess the damage to vessel and assist him ashore,” added the captain.