Watch harrowing footage of RNLI tow, after freak wave capsizes lone yachtsman

A man was rescued after getting into difficulty six miles south west of the Isles of Scilly, with severe gale force nine winds in the area. A ‘freak wave’ caused by the gale-force winds during Storm Aiden capsized the 34ft (10m) yacht.

Falmouth coastguard received a distress signal at about 05:00 BST.

The lone yachtsman was uninjured, and his stricken sailing vessel was towed to safety by the St Mary’s RNLI lifeboat in ‘challenging conditions’.

“Once on scene the lifeboat assessed the options and after discussions over the VHF with the sailor, the best way to get him to safety was to tow the yacht into St Marys,” says an RNLI post on Facebook.

“After several attempts to get close to the yacht as it was being blown sideways in force 9 winds, coupled with waves flattening the yacht on her side, the tow was passed and successfully secured.

“Once the lifeboat reached the shelter of the islands the tow was shortened to gain a little more control after which instructions were passed to release the tow line.

“During this release the yacht managed to run over the tow and get a wrap in its stern gear, however some quick thinking and it was cut away and freed.

“The yacht was then escorted into the safety of the harbour and with the help of the duchy staff secured alongside.”

“The yachtsman described being hit by a large freak wave which capsized, rolled and disabled the vessel and with a such a severe gale forecast for the area, it was important to get assistance out to this small sailing vessel quickly,” says Ian Guy, duty controller at the National Maritime Operations Centre.

Commentators online have questioned the wisdom of setting out to sea in such weather, but MIN has been unable to ascertain whether the vessel was already at sea in the days before, and then ran into difficulty.

Paddy Cochrane from Falmouth coastguard told the BBC that in the last 24 hours of stormy conditions the coastguard had dispatched lifeboat crews from all over Cornwall, the coastguard helicopter, and multiple lifeguard rescues on beaches.

“It’s people going down to have a look at the large storm conditions, wave watching and what have you,” says Cochrane.

Video footage of the yacht under tow footage, courtesy of Andrew Hicks