Rescued sailors arrive in the States

The two sailors plucked to safety off Bermuda when their yacht began taking on water have arrived safely in the US.

The duo, and their 33ft Swedish vessel, Bull, got into difficulties around 100 nautical miles southwest of Bermuda on Saturday afternoon.

The boat was on its way to St George’s from Florida when it began taking on water in rough seas.

The crew activated their Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) at around 3:45pm and Bermuda Radio coordinated rescue operations.

A 10,000 ton refrigerated cargo ship, Crown Sapphire, diverted to assist the stricken vessel.

And the US Coastguard also dispatched a C-130 aircraft equipped with life rafts.

The Crown Sapphire was unable to dispatch a lifeboat due to strong winds and rough seas.

They instructed the crew of the Bull to abandon into their life raft, which was towed alongside the merchant vessel.

Both sailors then scaled a cargo net onto the ship’s deck to safety.

The two rescued crewmembers remained on board the Crown Sapphire until she arrived in Delaware on Monday afternoon.

Bad weather

The weekend’s bad weather meant it was a busy few days for watch officers at the Bermuda Maritime Operations Centre.

They also had to keep close tabs on a 53ft Swiss registered sloop Ketupa, which was bound for Bermuda from Miami and hit difficulties in high seas.

The vessel and its three crew, suffered steering problems due to rudder failure and a lost boom.

However, they were able to get the sloop’s engine going again and arrived in St George’s yesterday morning.

Another emergency happened closer to shore. A 31ft mainship parted from its moorings in Hamilton Harbour and was rescued by onlookers as it hit the outer wall of the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club.

EPIRB activations were received from a vessel that sunk on its moorings in Hungry Bay, and another vessel that had previously been abandoned and was drifting around 170 nautical miles north of Bermuda.

Finally, the rest of this week is all about the container ships; the Somers Isles arrived in Hamilton this morning and the Islander is expected tomorrow morning.

The Oleander is due in again on Monday morning.