Amadeus - A sailboat crew is airlifted to safety after a total electrical failure and an uncontrolled leak leave them disoriented and sinking
The sailboat Amadeus, sailing from Union Island in the Grenadines to Martinique, lost all power and began taking on water. Believing they were in the Saint Lucia Channel, the three crew were actually 30 nautical miles further west in open sea. A diverted tanker confirmed the boat was sinking before the helicopter Dragon 972 hoisted all three to safety.
What happened.
On 10 March 2026, the sailboat Amadeus lost all power and began taking on water during a passage from Union Island to Martinique. Disoriented, the crew believed they were in the Saint Lucia Channel but were actually 30 nautical miles further west. A diverted tanker confirmed the boat was sinking before the helicopter Dragon 972 hoisted all three crew to safety.
On Tuesday 10 March 2026, France's CROSS Antilles-Guyane lost contact with the sailboat Amadeus, a day into a passage from Union Island in the Grenadines to Martinique. Search efforts — electronic tracking, VHF broadcasts, and a port inquiry via the Saint Lucia Marine Police — regained contact at 13:57. The three-person crew reported a total electrical failure and an uncontrolled leak. Disoriented, they believed they were in the Saint Lucia Channel, but their actual GPS position placed them 30 nautical miles further west, in open sea. With the boat facing imminent sinking, CROSS diverted the tanker Stolt Calluna, which confirmed on arrival that the sailboat was going down. CROSS then mobilised the Sécurité Civile helicopter Dragon 972, carrying a winch diver, which hoisted all three crew members to safety before the Amadeus sank. They were taken to the Civil Security base at Lamentin, Martinique, for care. A clean rescue, but a striking example of how fast a boat can go from becalmed passage to total loss once its power and watertight integrity both fail at once — and how badly a crew can misjudge their own position once the instruments they trust go dark.
What it teaches.
- 1A single electrical failure knocked out their instruments and left the crew wrongly certain of their position by 30 miles. Carry a backup that doesn't depend on the boat's main electrical system — a handheld GPS, paper chart and compass, or a phone with offline charts.
- 2The crew trusted their gut over their instruments until a diverted tanker and CROSS set them straight. When your position feels wrong, check it against a second source and call it in early — don't wait until you're sure something's gone wrong.
- 3An uncontrolled leak combined with total power loss turned a routine passage into a life-threatening one fast. Know where your through-hulls and manual bilge pump are, and confirm the manual pump works without shore power before you need it underway.
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