A British man has been found by a Spanish fishing vessel, having fallen overboard from his yacht 15 miles off the coast of Spain in bad weather - perhaps the edge of the weather system that decimated the Velux fleet.
Falmouth Coastguard received a hit from a 406 distress beacon at midnight, which put the vessel somewhere off the Portuguese coast. A further hit from the beacon put the vessel off Vigo in Spain.
At 2.00 am it was established that a man had fallen overboard the yacht Rash. The yacht had two people on board. A rescue helicopter and rescue boat were sent to the area by the Madrid Coastguard. At 3.30 am the missing man, who is from Bristol, was recovered from the water by a fishing vessel. He is safe and well. Both crew of the yacht were on board the fishing vessel which was bringing them back into Vigo. The yacht was being towed back into port.
Falmouth Coastguard had been liaising with the Madrid Coastguard since the start of the incident, giving details of the yacht and assisting the Spanish Coastguard.
Watch manager Mick Quinn said: “Falmouth Coastguard has been designated as the UK Coastguard co-ordination centre which liaises with our international colleagues in cases such as these. We were able to give information regarding the vessel to which the beacon is registered.
”It seems that the man who fell into the water is safe and well, despite having been in the water for a considerable amount of time. The weather in the area was not great at the time of the rescue, with force 5-7 winds, occasionally gale force 8 and thundery showers.”
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