Coastguard Helicopter Rescues Two From Sinking Yacht

Tuesday, July 07, 2009
Posted 16:24 GMT

Earlier this morning a fishing vessel, the 'Budding Rose' heard an urgency pan pan call on VHF from a two person Norwegian crew on board the yacht 'Serenity' some 8 miles from their position and about 80 miles due east of the Shetland Islands.

The crew indicated that their vessel had torn sails and was taking water and they needed urgent assistance as the water level was rising steadily and their drift was significant.

The crew of the fishing vessel immediately radioed Shetland Coastguard on the emergency medium frequency channel of 2182 kHz and passed the details. After discussion with the crew of the Budding Rose it was agreed that the fishing vessel crew would put out a mayday signal on VHF to alert any other vessels in the area to the plight of the yacht. However there was no response and the Budding Rose reported to the Coastguard that the drift of the yacht was increasing due to the worsening weather conditions.

The Coastguard rescue helicopter was immediately sent from its base at Sumburgh to the area whilst the fishing vessel also made its way to stand by the yacht. By midday, both people from the yacht had been winched aboard the helicopter and the fishing vessel was making an assessment on towing the yacht back to the Islands. However by 12.30pm the Budding Rose crew reported that the vessel had sunk.

Neil Cummins, Shetland Coastguard Watch Manager said:

Both of the crew from the sunken yacht were landed back to Shetland and fortunately both were uninjured and required no medical assistance. We are extremely grateful to the crew of the Budding Rose for all they did today and keeping us informed of developments. We are now in the process of trying to arrange some accommodation for the two stranded people overnight before they can start making arrangements for tomorrow.

For further details contact:
The Maritime & Coastguard Agency Press Office
023 8032 9401