A solo sailor was saved in a tense rescue operation after his yacht was found drifting dangerously close to an offshore wind farm off the Sussex coast. The skipper’s mayday call led to a dramatic nighttime lifeboat mission.
Volunteers from the RNLI Shoreham station launched their all-weather lifeboat late on Saturday following reports of a missing vessel. The 10-metre yacht had departed from Southampton, heading north towards Hartlepool, when it disappeared from radar.
Rescue teams located the yacht about 10 miles off Shoreham-by-Sea, perilously drifting near the towering turbines of the Rampion Wind Farm. A coastguard helicopter spotted cabin lights glowing but saw no sign of the skipper on deck.
Two RNLI volunteers boarded the yacht and found the skipper fast asleep and suffering from extreme exhaustion. RNLI lifeboat coxswain Simon Williams said, “The casualty was suffering from exhaustion and had alerted the coastguard but then fell asleep.”
A quick medical check confirmed the skipper had no serious health issues. The helicopter was stood down as the crew restarted the yacht’s engine and guided it safely back to Shoreham harbour, arriving at 3am on Sunday.
Simon Williams urged all sailors to act quickly in emergencies, saying, “The vessel was drifting very close to the turbines in the wind farm. We managed to take control of the yacht and bring it to safety.” The RNLI reminds anyone in distress at sea to dial 999 and ask for the coastguard immediately to avoid danger.
Originally published by UKNIP.
