Search called off for UK sailor – yacht found “eviscerated” in stormy weather
A 73-year-old British sailor is lost at sea after his yacht was found “eviscerated” off the French coast in stormy weather, maritime officials have reported.
According to reports from French maritime organisation, Préfecture maritime de l’Atlantique, the ETEL Regional Operational Centre for Surveillance and Rescue (CROSS) was alerted by its British counterparts about the 12-metre Tiger PA sailboat on Friday 24 January at around 7.30pm as the yacht was not responding to radio messages. The ship was then relocated approximately 185km from Pointe de Graves. The nearby cargo ship Autosun managed to establish radio contact after several attempts. The only person on board was a 73-year-old British man who said he was safe and continued on his way.
The next day, Saturday 25 January around 3:00pm, the Tiger PA distress beacon was detected approximately 80km west of Lacanau.
A French air force helicopter was dispatched as part of the rescue operation but found Tiger PA, “eviscerated” in the Bay of Biscay.
A cargo ship and the Spanish hospital ship Esperanza del Mar were diverted nearby to help search for the lone sailor.
On Sunday 26 January at 1.33am, after several hours of searching, the Préfecture maritime de l’Atlantique called off the search on 26 January at 1.33am due to a lack of new information.
RNLI rescues American students from Welsh island during Storm Éowyn
Despite severe weather warnings and maritime organisations urging the public to stay away from the coast during the stormy weather over the weekend, the RNLI was also despatched on several callouts.
The Met Office had issued yellow and amber weather warnings for wind and rain on 23-26 January, with gusts of 50 to 60mph expected, increasing to 60 to 70mph along the coasts.
On Saturday (25 January 2025) at 11.17am, the volunteer lifeboat from Horton and Port Eynon RNLI was launched following a report of two people in the water, and others stranded on Worms Head Rhossili, who were cut off by the incoming tide.
The RNLI lifeboat made its way to Worms Head and located seven people. The group were American students who were spending some time at Swansea University. The group was made up of five women and two men.
The students were checked over and then taken on board the lifeboat so they could be taken back to Rhossili. The lifeboat had to make four separate trips because of the number of people and sea conditions.
The volunteer crew of the lifeboat were Stuart Payne, Jon Tarrent and Jermey Littlejohns.
Jon Tarrant says: :This was a challenging rescue. The swell was up to 2m and the rise and fall of the water presented difficulties in picking up the people and also returning them to shore at Rhossili. It was also a rough passage to and from Horton to Worms Head.”
Lawrie Grove, lifeboat operations manager for Horton and Port Eynon Lifeboat Station says: “I would remind people when walking on or near the coast to make sure that they check local tide times and plan walks accordingly.
“Never try to to swim or wade to shore when cut off by the tide, it is extremely dangerous. The causeway at Rhossili that leads to Worms Head is usually open 2½ hours either side of low tide and the times it is open are displayed near to the causeway. Sometimes the causeway will close earlier when high winds accelerate the incoming tide. You should take a means of communication with you and, if you find yourself in difficulty or see someone in difficulty on or near the coast, phone 999 and ask for the Coastguard.”
Image above courtesy of the RNLI
Leave a Reply