“Every sailor, whether offshore or near-shore, must contemplate the possibility of finding themselves in distress or being called upon to assist another vessel”, says round-the-world sailor Kirsten Neuschäfer of the most comprehensive examination’ of yacht to yacht rescues ever produced.

“While it is certainly more enjoyable to daydream about far horizons or racing tactics, preparing for the unforeseen is a fundamental responsibility.

“We do this not only to save ourselves and our crew but also to honor the age-old law of the sea, which requires assisting others in distress.”

South African skipper Kirsten Neuschäfer won the 2022-2023 Golden Globe Race and rescued a fellow sailor from his liferaft en route. Credit: Olivier Blanchet/ALeA/Getty Images

The Cruising Club of America (CCA) Report of the Yacht-to-Yacht Crew Rescue review team, has been published, a year after the group, in conjunction with the Bermuda Race Foundation and US Sailing, was formed.

Neuschäfer, who rescued fellow Golden Globe Race skipper Tapio Lehtinen in 2022 after his Gaia 36 sank and he spent over 24 hours adrift in the southern Indian Ocean, writes in the foreword, “despite the most thorough preparations, unforeseeable events outside our control remain possible: extreme weather, collisions with semi-submerged objects, medical emergencies, or material failures.

“In such moments, quick and accurate decisions rely on our seamanship skills and theoretical understanding of the unforeseen.

“Because it is nearly impossible (and highly undesirable!) to gain practical experience in every type of emergency, the most valuable source of information is the hard-earned experience of others.

The Cruising Club of America (CCA) Report of the Yacht-to-Yacht Crew Rescue Review Team cover. Credit: CCA

This trailblazing report on yacht to yacht rescues is a ‘real eye opener’

“This report is an eye-opener about situations most people never contemplate”, adds Neuschäfer, “providing detailed analysis of a multitude of real-life, yacht-to-yacht crew rescues, each with different circumstances.”

Neuschäfer’s own heroic experience is included and she said: “While the rescue was ultimately successful, there are critical lessons I wish I had known beforehand as well as specific items that would have made the rescue easier and quicker.

“I’m sure Tapio would concur; seeing his raft drift away as it was deployed undoubtedly added unnecessary shock and adrenaline to an already life-threatening situation.

“A minor addition—an extra pair of reading glasses in his grab-bag—would have made it much easier for him to send YB3 [satellite text messaging] messages and to read instructions for deploying his flares.

“Furthermore, smoke flares for daytime signaling would have greatly facilitated my efforts to locate him as he drifted in his life raft with the bright, rising sun behind him.”

She urged all sailors to read the ‘gripping accounts’ in the report, which can be found at: https://cruisingclub.org/news/yacht-yacht-rescue-report

Why was a report on yacht to yacht rescues necessary?

Incident reviews after the 2024 Newport Bermuda Race, which involved the sinking of the 61-year old, wooden 50ft sloop Solution, and the rescue of her five crew by a United States Coast Guard helicopter, included recommendations to further study the challenges of yacht-to-yacht crew rescues (YTYCRs).

The CCA established a YTYCR review team in November 2025 and partnered with US Sailing and the Bermuda Race Foundation to convene a team of safety-at-sea experts to assess rescue techniques and practices.

This team identified 28 documented incidents, which involved 23 sinking and five disabled vessels, and conducted research, including interviews with those involved.

Most YTYCR incidents were beyond the range of shore-based assets.

But four involved vessels near the coast that suffered catastrophic damage necessitating immediate assistance from a nearby vessel when rapid sinking did not allow sufficient time to mobilise shore-based assets for rescue.

“Effective communication by all means, from flares and VHF to sophisticated satellite communications, was critical to the success of each rescue,” states the report’s executive summary, “it is sobering to consider reports of other vessels that were never heard from again.”

Intended for information only, the reports emphasises that ‘mariners should be aware that their circumstances may, and probably will, differ from the scenarios described in the report in significant ways that will impact how they need to consider any transfer of a person from one vessel to another’.

Most incidents involved the use of a liferaft with various transfer techniques.

Few, if any, skippers or crews were trained in yacht to yacht rescues.

The varied case studies included:

• The Peterson 44 Raindancer, which hit a whale while on a 3,100-mile passage to the Marquesas from the Galápagos, with about 1400 miles left to go.
• The 2006 Sydney Hobart Yacht Race yacht Koomooloo, which began taking on water approximately 70 miles offshore.
• Veteran skipper Jean Le Cam’s rescue of rival Kevin Escoffier in the 2020 Vendée Globe, after his IMOCA 60 PRB suffered a catastrophic structural failure and ‘snapped in half’ some 840 miles southwest of Cape Town, South Africa. The report said: ‘Escoffier barely had time to send a frantic text message to his shore team before his electronics died, saying: “I am sinking. This is not a joke. MAYDAY.”’ Le Cam found him floating in a life raft for 11 hours in the South Atlantic, following an extensive, coordinated search.
• The rescue of 2021 Atlantic Rally for Cruisers (ARC) Hanse 588 Charlotte Jane III by Magic Dragon, after the mechanical linkage on the starboard-side steering of the twin-wheel failed.
• The report states: “Pete Goss’s Aqua Quorum’s 1996 rescue of Raphaël Dinelli on Algimouss is recognized as one of the most demanding rescues in the Southern Ocean; sailing upwind in a gale was the first accomplishment!”
  Goss suggests that without the help of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) aircraft he probably have never been able to find the liferaft in the sea conditions.

French skipper Jean Le Cam (right) finished fourth in the 2020-2021 Vendee Globe round-the-world solo race after deduction of the compensation obtained for the rescue of Kevin Escoffier (left), following the sinking of his boat. Photo credit: JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP via Getty Images

About the Cruising Club of America

The CCA is a group of accomplished recreational offshore sailors bound together by friendship and the desire to foster the responsibilities, expertise, and skills needed for the adventurous use of the sea.

The review team now plans to collaborate with leaders in safety-at-sea training, race management, and the media to make these conclusions available to offshore sailors.

US Sailing SAS Course Chapter 1, Giving Assistance, states: “For as long as mariners have been going to sea, helping others in need of assistance has been a key element of seamanship.

“While a number of philosophical and legal arguments can be made for assisting another sailor, crew, or vessel, the fundamental reason is that other boats are often the most likely sources of rescue.

“And the boat you help today may well help you in the future.

“Distances at sea can be enormous, and due to the frequently hostile nature of the ocean, quick response by nearby vessels is key to reducing loss of life, especially in cold water.”

The report describes how Rob McAlpine, skipper of Sparky, who came to the assistance of stricken 48ft wooden sloop Restive, which was returning from the 2015 Marion Bermuda Race, said: “When you do this kind of sailing, you know the cavalry isn’t always coming. So, when you get the chance, you try to be the cavalry.”

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