YACHT DRAMA:"WE WERE getting slammed in every direction. It was like a washing machine out there," crew member Joe Finelli said, having spent three hours adrift in notoriously dangerous waters near Fastnet Rock.
Speaking after he was plucked to safety by the crew of a Baltimore-based private dive tours company on Monday night, he said if they had washed up against the rock they would have tried to clamber to safety. “What else could we do?” Finelli was among five crew members separated from the capsized vessel as it keeled over.
“We jumped overboard and tried to swim back to the group, but the wind and the waves pushed us back,” he said.
A member of the US coast guard, Finelli (44) patrols the waters off the northern coast of Mexico, conducting drugs busts, rescues and emigration control.
“We huddled together to try to swim back, but we were pushed further and further away,” he said.
Drifting clear of the capsized racing yacht, the five crew, including the Rambler 100's skipper and owner George David and his partner – the only female aboard – spent the next few hours clinging to each other in the water. "It was rough. The waves were washing right over us and we were drifting over towards the Fastnet Rock," he said.
Two and a half hours into the ordeal, they spotted a helicopter overhead. Lit up by strobe lights attached to their bright red and orange life jackets, they could only hope they had been seen.
“Thirty minutes later, we looked around and saw a vessel coming towards us. Boy we were glad to see that,” Finelli said.
Yacht owner George David (69) praised the rescue efforts of the Baltimore lifeboat and the professionalism of his 20 crew. “What’s been amazing about this whole experience is the complete confidence we have in the sea rescue capabilities available here in Ireland. Even as we floated in the water awaiting the arrival of a vessel, we knew it would come.”
He and his crew were overwhelmed by local reaction at the Baltimore Sailing Club. “What a reception. We have been so well looked after, it’s heartwarming.”
It is hoped an examination of the vessel can reveal what caused the steel structure to snap.
Based in Connecticut, USA, David is former chief executive of United Technologies Corporation. He has more than 40 years’ sailing experience. “We spent a couple of hours out there. I don’t plan to do it again,” he said.
The last man off the racing yacht waited in his bunk for the tipping vessel to right itself. When it didn’t, he scrambled outside to join the rest of the crew.
Nathan Hislop (36), from New Zealand, was among a number of crew sleeping below deck when he was awoken by a loud bang. “I could feel the boat tipping over . . . I just went into survival mode; I was the last out of the boat. There were four of us sleeping below deck with minimal protective clothing.”
The speed with which the racing yacht capsized prevented crew from boarding three life rafts. Crew members gripped the tipping hull as it turned in the water, while others had to jump clear of the vessel as it keeled over. “It fell fast. There was no chance of even cutting the life rafts free. We were hugging each other and we used each other’s body heat,” Hislop said.
The crew used emergency position indicating radio beacons to attract attention as crews of at least three racing yachts sped past, oblivious to their plight.
"The Leopoldcame very close, within a quarter of a mile. But they couldn't see us . . . when other boats passed us by, we did start to get a little worried. But you can't stress about it when you are out there, you have to stay calm," he said.