Sailor survives 16 hours after sailboat flips in North Atlantic, Spanish coast guard rescues him
A man survived 16 hours in the cold waters of the North Atlantic Ocean after his sailboat capsized Monday before the Spanish coast guard rescued him Tuesday afternoon.
The 62-year-old Frenchman, who has not been identified further, used an air pocket in the upside-down sailboat to stay alive, the BBC reported.
The Spanish coast guard shared videos from the rescue, describing it as near impossible.
“Al filo de lo imposible, en una operación contrarreloj, con mala mar, de noche, a 15 millas de costa y en medio de la nada”. Ayer cerramos con éxito el rescate del tripulante francés que permaneció 16 horas en el interior de su velero volcado en Malpica, ➡️ @laSextaTV pic.twitter.com/CD5R0O30J0
— SALVAMENTO MARÍTIMO (@salvamentogob) August 3, 2022
The Frenchman set sail from Lisbon on Monday afternoon in the 40-foot Jeanne Solo Sailor, according to the BBC. He sent a distress signal Monday night about 14 nautical miles from the Sisargas Islands on Spain’s northwest coast.
Spanish rescuers located the boat that night. A man was lowered onto the upturned hull of the boat and banged on the vessel to communicate with the man. The sailor returned the bangs from the other side of the boat.
“Cada vida salvada es nuestra mayor recompensa”
Así fue el rescate realizado ayer por Salvamento Marítimo al tripulante del velero francés JEANNE SOLO SAILOR que estaba quilla al sol a 14 millas NNW de Islas Sisargas. pic.twitter.com/gqobWTSoWc— SALVAMENTO MARÍTIMO (@salvamentogob) August 3, 2022
However, the cover of darkness made a nighttime rescue impossible. The Spanish coast guard waited until the morning before two divers moved in to save the man.
When the divers reached the man under the boat, they found him in a survival suit but submerged in water up to his knees. Vicente Cobelo, a member of the special operations team, told a local TV station that the man then dove into the water and swam out from under the boat.
Divers followed him and pulled him through, Cobelo said. The man was then airlifted out of the water and taken to a hospital.
The sailor was released from the hospital soon after his arrival because he had no issues, CNN reported.
“Each life saved is our greatest reward,” the Spanish coast guard tweeted.
