Lifeboats save yachtsman in dramatic rescue without GPS or radio

Monday 11 September 2017

Islanders have erupted in praise for a Jersey lifeboat crew after they successfully found and rescued a man thrown overboard a yacht without any GPS or radio yesterday morning.

Both St Helier lifeboats were called out shortly after 11:00 on Sunday following a panicked call from the skipper of a 18ft sailing yacht around two miles south-east of St Helier.

They reported that one of the three-person crew had fallen overboard and that they could no longer be seen or contacted.

The skipper was unable to give an accurate position due to the vessel’s lack of GPS, while the handheld radio they were relying on made communications “poor”.

The all-weather lifeboat was immediately sent out, followed shortly after by the inshore lifeboat.

Lifeboat crew members raised a mayday broadcast to all vessels in the area, but this received no reply.

Pictured: The St Helier Lifeboat station.

“Fortunately, whilst the Force 5 winds were creating a moderate swell, the weather was fair and visibility was good so that as the all weather lifeboat began a search en route to the yacht, a waving figure was spotted in the water in a dark wetsuit and dark buoyancy aid, some 100 feet off the lifeboat's track. The person looked conscious and well and was being kept afloat by their lifejacket,” a spokesperson explained.

“The casualty was quickly brought on board the all weather lifeboat and the inshore lifeboat stood down. Having checked that all was well with the casualty, who was uninjured, and the yacht, the all weather lifeboat then brought the casualty back to St. Helier. The casualty was taken back to St Helier to dry off and recover from the ordeal.”

The news was posted on Facebook, and his since received around 650 likes and 50 shares at the time of writing, with hundreds of islanders praising the service’s efforts.

Former crew member Paul Battrick wrote: “Superb result. We are very lucky to have some amazing volunteers who risk their life and do such a good job for us islanders. Well done coastguard for responding quickly and with the right resources.”

It was the first of two lifeboat rescues on Sunday. Later that day, St Catherine Lifeboat requested to launch to assist a kayaker in difficulty on the island's North Coast. After paddling to the Isle Agois, they were unable to reach the shore at Greve de Lecq again.

The kayaker was equipped with a mobile phone, however, and luckily obtained enough signal to make a call.

A Jersey Coastguard spokesperson explained: "The conditions were quite choppy with a 2m swell and a fresh Westerly wind. Thankfully the kayaker had found shelter and had temporarily beached their kayak. The Lifeboat quickly located the Kayaker and transferred them safely back to Greve De Lecq beach, safe and well. As always we thank the efforts of the St Catherine volunteer Lifeboat crew in assisting with this successful outcome."