16/08/2011

Miraculous Escape As Fastnet Yacht Capsizes

Twenty-one crew members have been plucked from a yacht that capsized off the Irish coast.

The US-registered Rambler 100, which was taking part in the Fastnet Race, overturned nearly 16 miles from Baltimore in County Cork, around 6.30pm on Monday.

Sixteen crew members were sitting on the hull of the ship, when the RNLI arrived and they were airlifted to safety, while the remaining five crew members, in a life raft, were picked up by another boat.

One crew member, believed to be a woman who was on the life raft, was taken to hospital for treatment for hypothermia. It is understood that she is now out of intensive care at Tralee General Hospital.

On Monday afternoon, it was reported that the US owner and several crew members were due to return to the yacht in order to try and retrieve belongings, including passports.

The yacht's owner, George David, told reporters that the vessel's stainless steel keel fin had fractured, but it is not yet known what caused it.

Around 314 yachts are taking part in the Fastnet Race, which set sail from the Isle of Wight on Sunday.

The race, organised by the Royal Ocean Racing Club, runs for 608 miles along the south coast of the UK, across the Celtic Sea to the Fastnet Rock off southwest Ireland, before returning around the Scilly Isles to the finish in Plymouth.

Fifteen people were killed during the race in 1979, due to severe weather conditions including strong winds and rough seas.

(KMcA/BMcC)

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