A single-handed French sailor has survived 16 hours adrift in his upturned hull after his race yacht capsized when the keel fell off in the eastern Atlantic off the coast of NW Spain.

Published 2 years ago

The 62-year-old French sailor was rescued off the coast of Spain on Aug. 3 after surviving for 16 hours in an air bubble inside his capsized boat.

Spain’s coastguard found the up-turned 12-metre sailing boat after receiving a distress signal late in the evening of Monday August 2. However solo-sailor Laurent Camprubi had to wait until the next morning for a rescue because the sea was considered too rough.

Camprubi sent out the call for help 22 kilometres (14 miles) off the Sisargas Islands near Spain’s north-western Galicia region when his boat, Jeanne Solo Sailor, got into difficulties. after setting off the day before from the Portuguese capital of Lisbon. He was participating in a qualifying race for the upcoming transatlantic solo race, the Route du Rhum, which takes place every four years.

Having arrived on Monday of Cape Finisterre he encountered strong winds and three-meter waves, and soon realized his boat had lost its keel. “I was trying to pull the main sail when the boat started to tilt,” he told La Voz de Galicia. “So without giving it much thought, I went inside, and in 15 seconds, the boat had capsized.”

Three helicopters and a rescue ship were scrambled to the rescue after they received the distress signal at 20:23 local time.  One of the helicopters discovered the upturned vessel as the sun was setting and sent a diver down to check for signs of life.  The Frenchman banged on the inside of the hull to let rescuers know he was alive. He was found wearing a neoprene survival suit and submerged in water up to his knees.  The sea at this point was too rough to attempt a rescue and visibility had grown poor. 

The Coastguard attached buoyancy balloons to the boat to stop it from sinking and waited until the morning. While Camprubi waited for help, he said he used the air bubble to breathe and tried to not panic. He told La Voz de Galicia it was the thought of not seeing his wife and children again that helped him survive the ordeal.

Two divers swam under the boat to help free the trapped sailor the next day. Vicente Cobelo, a member of the coastguard’s special operations team, told Spanish media that the man then jumped into the freezing water and swam under the boat to reach his rescuers. “Of his own initiative he got into the water and free-dived out, helped by the divers who had to pull him through because it was difficult for him to get out in his suit,” Cobelo said.

Coastguard divers described the operation as “verging on impossible”. 

Camprubi was airlifted to safety and taken to hospital for checks, and was discharged soon afterwards with no issues. He said he was shocked when he realized the extent of the damage to his boat — a shattered mast and boom, no keel and most of his equipment lost.

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Related News:

El náufrago de las Sisargas: «Al ver cómo quedó el barco no entiendo cómo sobreviví (La Voz de Galicia) – with much more technical detail

How a sailor survived 16 hours in an upturned boat (Washington Post)

Sailor from France survives in capsized boat (Euronews)

Sailor survives 16 hours in capsized boat (The Guardian)

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Related Links:

Spanish Coastguard (Salvamento Maritimo) Twitter Post

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