A British yacht taking part in the ARC has been involved in the rescue of a small boat full of illegal immigrants.
With so many illegal immigrants leaving the west coast of Africa in the hope of finding a better life in the Canary Islands it was perhaps inevitable that, despite the large waterborne frontier operation aiming to stem the tide, an ARC participant would at some point see a boat full of immigrants at sea, said the World Cruising Club, which organises the annual Atlantic Race for Cruisers from Las Palmas to St Lucia in the Caribbean.
However, to run across such a craft some 400 miles south west of the Canary Islands and 200 miles off the coast of Africa was a little unexpected for the crew of ARC yacht Flying Start.
Yesterday afternoon Nick Lewis, skipper of the Moody 38 Flying Start, telephoned the World Cruising Club office in Cowes to report that he had come across a small craft with about 15 people on board. After consultation with the MRCC (Marine Rescue & Coordination Centre) in Las Palmas, Flying Start was requested to remain with the craft while a ship was sent to help rescue the immigrants.
Nick headed back a short distance to the position of the small craft, relocating it again with the help of the Spanish Air Force. The yacht then remained on station to identify the craft to the ship when it arrived.
The hospital ship, the Esperansa del Mar, arrived on the scene at 0430 today and successfully rescued the immigrants from their small craft. It is believed that 34 people had initially been on board, though only 15 remained, and one of those had recently died. The prospects for the survivors would not have been good if they had not been found by Flying Start.
With the rescue complete, Flying Start was stood-down by the hospital ship at 0630, and rejoined the ARC at approximately 0830 when she reached the position she had been when asked by the Spanish rescue authorities to stand by.
Nick Lewis, a retired solicitor from Bridgend in South Wales, said: “We did the right thing by the Spanish rescue authorities. It's been a long hard night and we are now just pleased to have rejoined the ARC and be on our way again towards St Lucia.”
For more information visit arc.worldcruising.com/en/
