Harrowing footage shows Cork yachtsman rescued from 30-foot swells

A HARROWING video released yesterday by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution shows rescuers braving hellish conditions on the sea south of Cork to save a stricken yachtsman.

The 60-year old had been in regular radio contact with the Coast Guard on Monday until his radio was washed overboard by one of the gigantic surges. He then activated his EPIRB beacon, which alerted the crew at Castletownbere to his situation.

He then activated his Emergency Positioning Indicting Radio Beacon (EPIRB), which alerted the crew at Castletownbere.

Watching the video, it appears that the yacht’s mast was separated from the boat in the rough weather.

The lifeboat volunteers, from Castletownbere Lifeboat Station, had mammoth 30-foot waves blocking their path through to the lone sailor, whose boat—at 26-feet in length—was dwarfed by the swells.

It took the volunteers some 12 hours to battle through the difficult conditions and rescue the man who was located around 45 miles south of Mizen Head in West Cork.

Scroll down to watch the rescue footage...

The lifeboat was launched around 8am and was not able to return to Castletownbere with the stricken yacht in tow until around 8:30pm, owing to the Force 8/9 gusts.

Castletownbere’s RNLI lifeboat operations manager Tony O'Sullivan commended his men for their heroics, commenting that, “the coxswain and the crew are to be complimented for today’s rescue—they demonstrated skill, seamanship and endurance during what was a long and challenging day.”

The man himself, who wasn’t named, thanked the lifeboat volunteers and everyone else involved in the rescue for “saving his life”, adding that, “only for the lifeboat, things would have ended up very badly for me today.”

Watch the video below...

Incredible footage of @CastletownRNLI all weather lifeboat during a 12hr rescue of a yacht in high winds: pic.twitter.com/7g3uVQpGXZ

— RNLI (@RNLI) 24 August 2016