Two yacht crew reach dry land after 'five very difficult days at sea'

Two sailors in their late 60s are ‘happy to be on dry land’ after five very difficult days at sea in a dismasted yacht.

The pair had been on passage from the Azores to the Hebrides when their 32ft cruiser was
pounded by heavy seas and winds 150 miles southwest of Mizen Head, Ireland.

The yacht called Alice was dismasted
and a ‘Mayday’ call yielded no results.


The crew were assisted by
a Spanish fishing boat and then by the navy.

Castletownbere
RNLI’s lifeboat volunteers were called in to assist on Wednesday evening
by Valentia Coastguard after the yacht had been towed by the naval vessel LE Aoife for two days.

The Annette Hutton lifeboat , under the
command of Second Coxswain Paul Stevens, met with LE Aoife four miles
southwest of Ardnakinna lighthouse and transferred the two sailors aboard the lifeboat.


Conditions on scene were
moderate.


The lifeboat towed the stricken vessel to Castletownbere, on the southwest coast of Ireland, in West Cork, arriving at the pier at
7pm.


Tony O’Sullivan, Castletownbere RNLI Lifeboat operations manager
said: ‘The survivors are very happy to be on dry land after five very difficult
days at sea.


‘They are extremely
grateful to the navy and the lifeboat crew for bringing them to safety’.






Picture: A still from the rescue video. Credit: RNLI

Click here to watch the video.