ONE MAN AND HIS DOG RESCUED FROM UNSEAWORTHY SAIL BOAT
A
Coastguard-coordinated rescue in the Bristol Channel last night (Thursday 24th)
has underlined the importance of ensuring a vessel is seaworthy and properly
equipped before taking to the waves.
Just before midnight, the Swansea Maritime Rescue
Co-ordination Centre were contacted by the police who had received a call from a
mariner, accompanied only by his dog, whose 17ft sailing boat had become
stranded mid-Channel, just south of Lundy Island, after the outboard motor
failed.
Upon further investigation it was discovered that the vessel
was one of the least seaworthy that Swansea Coastguards had encountered in a
good while: its hull was leaking, the mast was missing, with an old windsurfing
rig serving as a poor substitute; the boat had no lights, no VHF radio – the
sailor contacted the emergency services on a mobile phone – and his GPS device
wasn’t working, so he was unable to give his position. Coastguards had to use onshore telecommunications
beacons to estimate his location to within 30km.
The optimistic voyager, who had also neglected to carry any
charts, informed Coastguards that he was en route to the Hebrides, having set
out from Instow, North Devon.
Coastguards had to use
onshore telecommunications beacons to estimate his position to within
30km. This enabled them to task the
search and rescue helicopter from Chivenor who spent two hours searching for a
boat in the dark with no lights on, and just after four in the morning the
sailor and canine companion were winched from the boat. RNLI’s Appledore lifeboat was tasked to
recover the vessel from a position 2.5 miles SSW of Lundy so that it was no
longer a danger to shipping in the busy Bristol Channel. The volunteer lifeboat crew returned to
station at 0915 in the morning, ready for a full day’s work.
Bernie Kemble, Swansea Coastguard Watch Officer, said: “So
many things were wrong with this gentleman’s boat and lack of preparation that
the situation was almost comical. He had
taken to sea in what was effectively a leaky fibreglass hull, without even the
most basic communications and safety equipment.
“Thankfully, weather conditions were calm, he was avoided by
other vessels in the area and he was able to use the only piece of
communications equipment he had to hand – his mobile phone – to raise the
alarm. However, the situation could have
been far more serious and he and his dog were lucky that they were rescued
promptly.
“We would remind anyone in trouble at sea or on the coast to
call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.”
The sailor and his dog were both reported to be unharmed by
their ordeal.