Six sailors experienced an extremely dicey rescue on the open Atlantic yesterday (23 April 2026). 155 nautical miles west of Vigo, they had to drop from their leaking yacht into a life raft in 30 knots of wind and corresponding swell before the Galician coastguard's Pesca 1 helicopter winched them up one by one. The operation is considered a borderline case - both in terms of distance and weather conditions.
Operation at the limits of what is possible
At around 9.30 a.m., the crew of six - four men and two women - activates the EPIRB. They have two problems at once: Water ingress and engine failure. The cause of the leak is not yet known. Although the crew reports that the leak is temporarily under control, they still request an evacuation in view of the critical condition.
The Centro de Salvamento Marítimo in Finisterre alerts a helicopter from the Guardacostas de Galicia, the Galician coastguard. Another helicopter from A Coruña is alerted as a backup. A Portuguese fishing vessel in the vicinity is also informed of the critical situation.
The challenge: with 30 knots of wind and a distance of 155 nautical miles, the helicopter "Pesca 1", a Eurocopter AS 365 Dauphin with a theoretical range of 230 nautical miles, has to push its capacity to the absolute limit. To make matters worse, communication does not work at first. Radio contact was only established via the Starlink satellite system and a contact person in Estonia; a conceivably far-fetched mayday relay scenario.
Daring jump into the life raft
When the helicopter reaches the stricken vessel, the crew embark on a daring endeavour. A video from the Galician coastguard shows the dicey rescue: in heavy seas, all six crew members have to drop from the deck onto a yellow life raft before the helicopter can winch them up one by one.
The video shows the dangerous moments leading up to the rescue:
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All of them were flown safely to Vigo. It is currently not known whether the boat is still drifting somewhere in the Atlantic or has sunk in the meantime. The last AIS signal was sent at midday on the day of the accident. At the same time, a regional message warned of the drifting boat, last position: 42°46.73'N 011°52.33'W off Finisterre.
From the Caribbean back to Europe - then came the leak
AIS data and information from the coastguard suggest that the shipwrecked vessel is the "Cekritito", a sail training ship flying the Estonian flag. Yesterday, the AIS showed the 12-metre sailing vessel moving forward after a course change, initially at eight knots, but then at less than one knot in some places. A fishing boat was in its vicinity.
The ketch, which was built in Sweden as a final project at a vocational school for shipbuilding based on a Bruce Roberts design, has been in use for sail training trips since 2021. She was just on her way back from the Caribbean. According to Sail Training International were planning to take part in the Tall Ships Races 2026 as part of their journey home. The prestigious race series starts on 24 June in Aarhus (Denmark) and runs via Harlingen, Antwerp and Stavanger to the final in Aalborg at the end of July/beginning of August.
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Ursula Meer
Redakteurin Panorama und Reise
