The Fleet's Logbook.
A searchable, public reference of documented sailing emergencies. Every entry is one incident — what happened, where, when, to whom, why — with sources, lessons, and links to the related SeaWise procedures. Catalogued and kept on behalf of the fleet, because individual logbooks are no longer kept.
Before dawn on 8 July 2026, a sailboat carrying two adults and six children began taking on water off Fort Monroe, at the mouth of the Chesapeake near Hampton, Virginia. The crew reached Hampton Police and the Coast Guard; a Hampton fire boat and the Coast Guard converged on the position around four in the morning. All eight aboard were rescued, with no injuries reported.
A yacht ran aground near the Port Austin Reef Lighthouse, at the tip of Michigan's Thumb on Lake Huron, around late June 2026. Local coverage reported two people rescued without injury. A separate Coast Guard account from the same period describes a single injured sailor hoisted by helicopter after a Lake Huron grounding near Port Austin — whether these are one incident or two is not confirmed.
About 7 a.m. on 5 July 2026 a 30-foot sailboat was lost roughly five miles east of Hornby Island, in British Columbia's Strait of Georgia. The two men aboard said a rogue wave smashed her windows and flooded her, and she sank, leaving them in whitecapped seas. A Comox charter skipper heard their Mayday on VHF, raced over in his fishing boat, and with a helicopter overhead helped recover both. The Coast Guard took them to hospital; both survived.
High winds gusting near 38 mph capsized a sailboat carrying three adults on Clinton Lake, close to the dam tower west of Lawrence, Kansas, in 2026. One person swam to shore while the other two stayed with the upturned hull until a county fire crew reached them. All three were treated for cold exposure and none were hospitalised.
The 60-foot sailing yacht Scotch Mist flooded through a deteriorating propeller-shaft seal about 170 nautical miles south of Block Island, Rhode Island. A Coast Guard aircraft dropped a dewatering pump while the cutter William Chadwick diverted and took all four crew aboard, treating them for shock and hypothermia. No lives were lost.
On 18 June 2026 the 40-foot sailing vessel Mizuya lost her rudder in the open North Pacific, roughly 950 miles southwest of Adak, Alaska, and could no longer steer. With help beyond any single nation's reach, the US, Canadian and Japanese coast guards coordinated a response: the Canadian ship Sir Wilfrid Laurier diverted more than 575 miles and, around 26-27 June, took all three crew off in good condition for passage to Japan.
On the evening of 14 February 2026 the 37-foot sailing yacht Chusan ran aground on rocks near Winyah Bay, off Georgetown, South Carolina. The skipper radioed for help around 6:16 p.m., and a Coast Guard MH-65 helicopter hoisted him and his dog to safety at Georgetown Airport with no injuries.
On 23 June 2026, two cruising catamarans collided in the Gulf of Cargèse, Corsica. One, a Looping 50 with three aboard, was holed and flooded faster than her pumps could keep up. The SNSM lifeboat crew took the three off and deliberately grounded her on sand to stop her sinking, then patched and refloated her the next day. No one was hurt.
On the night of 13-14 July 2026, a sailboat with ten people and a dog aboard ran aground on the Frioul archipelago off Marseille. The police nautical brigade reached the stranded boat and took everyone off safely, with no injuries. Details of the vessel and the cause of the grounding were not reported.
On 16 January 2026 a 42-foot catamaran moored about 300 yards off Māla Wharf in Lahaina, Maui, took on water and sank, staying partly afloat where she went down. The one man aboard, 67, was helped off by a nearby boat and needed no medical treatment. No one else was aboard.
About 1:30 p.m. on Sunday 12 July 2026, a sailboat capsized in San Francisco Bay roughly half a mile east of San Francisco International Airport, near Coyote Point. Three people, all Foster City residents, were left clinging to the hull. San Mateo County Sheriff's Marine Unit deputies training nearby heard the call and pulled all three from the water. They were shaken and cold but unhurt.
Late on 27 June 2026, a couple moored to a buoy off Langholz in the Baltic's Eckernförde Bay went below in a thunderstorm; their sailboat broke loose and drifted. As DGzRS rescuers towed it in, a gust to force 10 capsized the boat and threw both into the water. The crew pulled the pair from the dark sea unhurt.
On 1 July 2026 a 44-foot yacht ran aground off the Ayrshire coast in Scotland's Firth of Clyde, in an area local coverage called a notorious grounding blackspot. Largs RNLI launched and took all five people aboard to safety. No injuries were reported.
A sailboat capsized on Lake Erie off Bay Village, Ohio around 8 p.m. on 27 June 2026. A resident ashore saw two people in the water beside the overturned hull and called for help. A Westlake police drone found both — one had drifted about 40 feet from the boat — and an Ohio DNR boat brought them ashore. Both were wearing life jackets and were unharmed.
On Sunday 12 July 2026, the 35-foot recreational catamaran Alakai lost her steering and began flooding while crossing from O‘ahu to Kaua‘i. Her lone skipper reached the Coast Guard by text message, warning that she might sink. A Coast Guard helicopter hoisted him about 23 miles offshore and flew him to Līhu‘e, where he was checked and released unhurt. The catamaran sank shortly after the rescue.
On 19 July 2026, a yacht carrying a man and his dog began taking on water off Bangor, Northern Ireland, during a passage from Donaghadee to Belfast. Bangor RNLI's lifeboat came alongside, put a crew member aboard to check the flooding, and escorted her safely into Bangor Marina, where a salvage pump cleared the water. No one was hurt.
Overnight on 10–11 June 2026, an outbound international yacht more than 40 nm north of North Cape, New Zealand, lost its steering and then its jury-rigged backup, leaving an exhausted skipper and seasick crew adrift. Coastguard Houhora put two crew aboard to helm and escorted the yacht 185 km back to port — over ten hours at sea in the dark.
On 27 June 2026, a sailboat with two Greek nationals aboard began taking on water and partially sank near the Pergousa islet off Nisyros, Greece. The Hellenic Coast Guard located the boat, recovered both people safely, and brought them to Nisyros harbour. Neither was hurt.
Early on 21 June 2026, a single-handed 57-year-old French sailor radioed the Azores rescue centre at about 4 a.m. with his boat in difficulty off the southwest coast of Faial, near Varadouro. He got himself off the boat and onto the rocks before help arrived, but the sea was too rough to lift him off until 8:45 a.m. A lifeboat recovered him and he was taken to hospital in Horta, exhausted but alive; the boat grounded.
On the stormy night of 27–28 June 2026, a couple sheltered below on their sailboat, made fast to a mooring buoy in Eckernförde Bay on the western Baltic. The mooring failed and the boat drifted; a DGzRS lifeboat found them aboard and began a tow. Then a second thunderstorm hit with gusts to force 10, capsized the boat under tow, and threw both into the dark water — the lifeboat crew pulled both out unhurt within minutes.
On 11 March 2026, a 44-foot catamaran capsized in open Pacific seas off Maupiti, in French Polynesia, with three people aboard. A distress beacon triggered the alert — two crew clung to the upturned hull and one waited in a deflating liferaft. A French military aircraft air-dropped survival gear, and a merchant ship about 13 hours away diverted and recovered all three, one of them injured, before carrying them on to New Zealand.
On 21 June 2026 a 57-year-old Frenchman sailing alone off Faial in the Azores called for help at 0400 in difficulty. Heavy seas delayed the Horta lifeboat, so he was not lifted off until 0845, by then exhausted, and was taken to hospital. The yacht he left behind then drifted for about ten days before grounding.
After an overnight passage from Portland, Maine, the sailboat Blue Rider struck the inside of the East Jetty while entering Nantucket Harbor just after midnight on 12 June 2026. On a very high, nearly moonless tide the jetty was almost submerged and difficult to see. The three people aboard were unhurt; Coast Guard Station Brant Point and the Nantucket harbormaster responded, and Tow Boat US pulled the boat clear by morning.
On 17 March 2026, a catamaran ran aground on the coral reef north of Moorea, in French Polynesia, near the Ava Iti pass. After the alert reached the Tahiti rescue centre early that morning, the four people aboard were evacuated unharmed once the hull's integrity could no longer be assured. The owner shut off the electrical, gas and fuel systems before leaving; no pollution resulted, and the wreck was removed days later.
A French-flagged charter yacht with eight Czech sailors aboard was struck by the high-speed passenger catamaran Krilo Eclipse in Splitska Vrata, the busy channel between Šolta and Brač, on 14 June 2026. The yacht sank in about 50 metres of water and four of the eight were killed; the other four were rescued. The catamaran's first officer, navigating in place of the captain, was arrested as the investigation continues.
On 4 May 2026, a yacht struck the southern breakwall at the mouth of the Richmond River near Ballina, on the New South Wales coast. A Marine Rescue NSW boat with six volunteers crossed the notorious Ballina Bar in treacherous seas to help — and capsized. Three people died: two volunteer rescuers and the man from the yacht. Four other crew reached shore with minor injuries.
A family of five from L'Anse, Michigan ran their 31-foot sailboat onto rocks about halfway across Keweenaw Bay while crossing Lake Superior from the Portage Canal to L'Anse Marina on 2 June 2026. They called 911 immediately, and within 30 minutes Michigan DNR conservation officers launched a patrol boat and brought all five ashore in good condition. The boat, stuck but undamaged, was left for a salvage company.
A 74-year-old Canadian sailing solo from Hilo, Hawaii to Vancouver lost his mast and engine and injured his shoulder in a gale with roughly 30-foot seas about 489 nautical miles off Oregon. Too far out for a Coast Guard helicopter, his distress call — relayed through his satellite communicator — brought the cruise ship Silver Whisper, which diverted, came alongside in heavy swell, and took him off. His sailboat was left adrift.
A sailing yacht ran aground at Toulon, on the French Mediterranean coast, with one person aboard. He was unhurt, but the hull was badly damaged. The SNSM, the Maritime Gendarmerie and CROSS Med were mobilized, and a debris barrier was deployed by the naval base's anti-pollution unit as a precaution. No pollution was detected.
On a Saturday in late May 2026, a German family — father, mother and their seven-year-old child — were sailing a catamaran near Riva del Garda, on northern Lake Garda, when it ran onto rocks and capsized in the lake's strong winds. Another sailor alerted the coast guard, and a rescue boat from Torbole recovered all three unharmed. The damaged catamaran was salvaged later by a local sailing school.
Around midday on Monday 29 June 2026, a sailboat capsized on the Traunsee near Traunkirchen in Upper Austria. The single person aboard stayed with the boat and was recovered unhurt by fire and water-rescue crews, who ended the operation after about 45 minutes. The cause of the capsize was not established.
On a calm evening in June 2026, a 41-foot yacht on a delivery from the Gold Coast to Ballina, on the New South Wales coast, struck a reef at Flat Rock off Skennars Head and began taking on water. Two people were aboard, including an elderly man with limited mobility; a passer-by helped him ashore and the skipper followed. No one was hurt, but the yacht was left stranded on the reef.
During the hurricane-force storm 'Harry' on the night of 19 January 2026, the 28-metre aluminium sailing yacht Acoa dragged her anchor and grounded on the beach at Son Servera, on Mallorca's east coast. Her skipper, alone aboard, was thrown overboard but reached shore, suffering hypothermia and injuries. The yacht was left stranded in the surf, and an early attempt to refloat her failed.
On Friday 19 June 2026, a fire broke out aboard a sailing yacht carrying eight Polish nationals as it was docking at the new-port marina on Mykonos. Crews from nearby boats boarded with portable extinguishers and, with the Coast Guard, contained the blaze; all eight aboard disembarked safely ashore. The yacht was then towed to the quay and secured, with only minor damage and no injuries reported.
Off Zea Marina, Piraeus, around 1 June 2026, a charter sailing yacht left harbour at speed and — keeping no proper lookout in daylight — ran down and sank a small fishing boat. The fisherman jumped into the sea at the last moment and was pulled out by a Coast Guard crew inspecting boats nearby. No one was killed, and the port authority opened an investigation into how the yacht's crew failed to see the boats ahead.
On the evening of 30 June 2026 a sailing yacht sank about five miles west of Kefalonia in calm weather. The two Italians aboard abandoned in good time into the yacht's own tender and were picked up by a passing private vessel, escorted ashore by a Hellenic Coast Guard patrol boat. Both were unhurt; the cause is under investigation.
A sailing yacht ran aground on rocks at the entrance to Port Bourgenay, in the Vendée, with a couple and their two dogs aboard, in difficult conditions. A French Navy helicopter hoisted the couple off, and a diver boarded twice to recover the dogs; everyone was unhurt. The yacht was left abandoned on the rocks.
While sailing from Whangarei, New Zealand, to Fiji in June 2026, the 14.6-metre yacht Cahuna lost her rudder in a Pacific gale near the Minerva Reef region, leaving four crew without steering some 300 nautical miles from Fiji. In winds to 40 knots and 5-metre swells they deployed drogues and improvised a rudder while a relief vessel, the YWAM Koha, diverted to tow them to Suva. This is a developing situation.
On a Sunday afternoon in early February 2026, a 12-metre sailing yacht caught fire at anchor in Campomoro Bay, off south-west Corsica. By the time the SNSM arrived she was fully ablaze, the fire fed by a gas bottle and about 80 litres of diesel. The crew got off unaided and unhurt; the fire was brought under control after about an hour, but the weakened yacht sank.
Around dawn on 16 June 2026, a catamaran about five nautical miles southwest of Barbate, in the Gulf of Cádiz near the Strait of Gibraltar, reported an interaction with Iberian orcas. Spain's Salvamento Marítimo advised the crew to make for shallower water and stay safe aboard, asked a nearby fishing boat to stand by, and the rescue craft Salvamar Enif towed the catamaran into Barbate. The crew were unharmed.
On Friday 13 February 2026, the Dutch-flagged Bavaria 45 Vlie struck an unidentified submerged object off Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, and flooded so fast that she sank in about five minutes. All five aboard got into the liferaft, and a Spanish rescue helicopter lifted them to safety roughly 45 minutes later. The exact cause was not confirmed, but the underwater impact was blamed for the catastrophic flooding.
A 69-year-old man sailing alone from Gandia, Spain, toward Guardamar del Segura disappeared in mid-January 2026. The official air-sea search ran for five days and was called off. Eleven days after he went missing, a Frontex patrol aircraft spotted his drifting yacht far off the Algerian coast, and he was recovered alive and in good health. The cause of the drift was never established.
On 26 May 2026, a US-flagged yacht sailing single-handed down the Baja California coast drifted ashore at Playas de Tijuana, in Mexico, after its skipper fell asleep at the helm and the current carried the boat onto the beach. He woke as it grounded and was unhurt; the yacht was left stranded on the sand while he sought to refloat or sell it.
In June 2026 the dive liveaboard Philippine Siren 2 grounded on the coral at Bird Islet, in the Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park, after a sudden squall caught her moored to a buoy off the reef. All 28 aboard — 14 divers and 14 crew — were safe and transferred to a nearby yacht. She was refloated six days later and towed to Puerto Princesa, with no oil spill reported.
On 24 May 2026, a sailing yacht with two people aboard ran aground off Hyppeln, in the Öckerö archipelago near Gothenburg, Sweden. The Swedish Sea Rescue Society brought both sailors ashore, and one was taken by ambulance to hospital; the extent of the injuries was not known. The cause of the grounding was not stated.
Days after winning the 2026 Cape2Rio on handicap, the youth crew of Angel Wings was completely dismasted in a gale on the delivery home — over 25 knots of wind and 5-metre seas — and abandoned the yacht at 02:30 on 3 February 2026, about 1,448 km southeast of Rio. All three transferred unhurt to the freighter Bryant, and the South African Navy later landed them at Simon's Town. The yacht was lost.
On 26 May 2026, the sailing yacht Maserra, with three Canadians aboard, suffered mechanical failures and lost the ability to navigate about 32 nautical miles off San José del Cabo, in Baja California Sur, Mexico. The Mexican Navy located the boat, found the three crew in good health, and towed the disabled yacht to a safe port.
Around 10 June 2026, an international cruising yacht more than 74 km north of North Cape, New Zealand, lost its steering; a jury-rigged replacement also failed, leaving it unmanoeuvrable with a seasick crew and a tired skipper. Coastguard Houhora deployed under a special offshore exemption, put two crew aboard to steer, and escorted the yacht about 185 km back to Houhora over a roughly 10-hour overnight rescue. Everyone reached shore safely.
In the early hours of Sunday 21 June 2026, a French sailor alone aboard his yacht grounded on the rocky southwest coast of Faial in the Azores, between Varadouro and Morro de Castelo Branco. He alerted the Ponta Delgada rescue centre around 04:00 and climbed onto nearby rocks; with the sea too rough for an immediate pickup, the Horta lifeboat took him off at 08:45. Exhausted, he was taken to hospital. He survived.
In Cook Strait around 20-21 May 2026, the 11-metre yacht Boxing Kangaroo issued two maydays. First, a seriously ill crew member was evacuated off Cape Palliser in an overnight, 82-nautical-mile Coastguard operation. The skipper then stayed aboard alone; as conditions worsened he became lost and called again. An RNZAF P-8A Poseidon found the boat near Baring Head and HMNZS Taupo rescued him before midnight. Both men survived.
On a Friday evening in early May 2026, the 30-foot sailboat Jenny Lee ran aground and began flooding off Coffins Beach, near the mouth of the Essex River in Massachusetts. The boat's emergency beacon alerted the Coast Guard, and local crews rescued the two men aboard — brothers, 28 and 30 — and their small dog. Both men were treated for hypothermia; the dog was unharmed.
About 03:15 on New Year's Day 2026, in dense fog and 1.5-metre swell, a cruising catamaran on passage from Knysna to Port Elizabeth ran aground and began breaking up at Seal Point, Cape St Francis, South Africa — apparently after a change of watch. All four aboard survived: two teenage girls reached shore, and two men were recovered about 100 metres offshore. Two were hospitalised in stable condition.
In early February 2026, a 32-year-old American crewman aboard the sailing yacht Lena Rae fell seriously ill — chest pain and breathlessness — on a passage from St Helena to the Caribbean, about 1,600 km from Recife, Brazil. Brazil's sea-rescue service diverted a nearby merchant ship to take him aboard, and a Brazilian Air Force helicopter then flew from Natal to evacuate him to hospital.
In late January 2026, a yacht capsized in the Atlantic off the Cabo Verde islands with three Lithuanian sailors aboard, the only people on board. A satellite SOS reached Spain's sea-rescue service, and the tanker Ouro do Brasil recovered the three from the sea: two alive, with skin burns but otherwise apparently well, and one already dead. The survivors were landed at Cabo Verde.
On the night of 16 April 2026, a 10-metre sailing yacht with five people aboard, aged 29 to 75, was on passage off Sainte-Luce, Martinique, when its engine failed; it then ran aground on a bank and began leaking. The five took to their tender — which was also disabled — and drifted several hundred metres before the gendarmerie and SNSM rescued them, unharmed but badly shaken.
On a recreational passage from San Fernando toward Colonia in 2026, a sailing yacht caught fire in the Emilio Mitre channel, the approach to Buenos Aires on the River Plate. Its two crew — a man and a woman — ended up in the water and were found floating about 100 metres from the burning boat by the Argentine Prefectura. Both were treated ashore for burns and hypothermia.
In late May 2026 off northwest Morocco, two French sailors believed their catamaran was sinking from water ingress and abandoned it for their dinghy. The catamaran never sank — it was found still afloat off Tangier and towed empty into Asilah, raising fears the pair were lost. In fact they spent four days and nights adrift in the dinghy before a merchant ship found and rescued them alive on 28 May. Both survived.
On a weekend in mid-March 2026, a single-handed yachtsman's rudder failed about 15 nautical miles south of Cape Point, near Rocky Banks, leaving his sailing yacht adrift. NSRI Simon's Town launched the rescue craft Donna Nicholas, found the sailor safe, rigged a towline and — in an operation running into the night — towed the yacht to Simon's Town. There were no injuries.
About 12:15 a.m. on Thursday 25 June 2026, the 40-foot sailing vessel Mizuya lost rudder control roughly 950 nm southwest of Adak, Alaska. With 35-mph winds and 15-foot seas, the US, Canadian and Japanese coast guards coordinated a response: a Canadian ship sailed over 575 miles to take off all three crew — in good condition — and handed them to a Japanese patrol vessel for Japan.
On the morning of 27 June 2026, the Penghu-registered yacht 'Daily Ocean' took on water in rough seas about two nautical miles off Dongji Islet, then lost power and capsized on a diving outing. All four aboard, including a captain surnamed Lee, went into the water and were pulled out by the nearby fishing vessel 'San Chuan Fa' before the coast guard arrived.
On 14 June 2026, in the busy Splitska vrata channel between Brač and Šolta near Split, Croatia, a fast scheduled passenger catamaran collided with a French-flagged sailing yacht, which sank. Eight people were aboard the yacht: four were rescued from the water, and four died — three at the scene and one recovered the next day from the wreck at 50 metres. The cause is under investigation.
Around midday on Saturday 20 June 2026, a sailing yacht caught fire approaching Palma harbour, Mallorca, with four people aboard. Two of the crew jumped into the sea to escape the flames and were pulled out by Real Club Náutico de Palma marina staff, alerted over the port radio channel. One man was seriously hurt — a deep, bleeding leg wound, and semi-conscious — and the Palma fire brigade extinguished the blaze. The cause is unknown.
On 26 May 2026, 489 miles off Oregon, the 29-foot Alice was dismasted and left with a dead engine in a gale while her 74-year-old skipper sailed alone from Hawaii to British Columbia. He hurt his shoulder but stayed in contact by handheld satellite messenger. The Coast Guard flew overwatch and the cruise ship Silver Whisper diverted 120 miles to lift him off.
On the evening of 1 February 2026, a sailing yacht struck submerged rocks at an extreme low tide near the Rockpile surf break off Laguna Beach, California. Laguna Beach Marine Safety's vessel Wave Watch took all four people aboard off safely, with no injuries. The damaged yacht submerged overnight and was salvaged the next day and towed to Newport Harbor.
On Monday 22 June 2026, a man aboard a sailboat that had become disabled about 100 miles offshore of Charleston, South Carolina, was assisted by the US Coast Guard. The cutter Vigorous took the boat under tow, later transferring it to the cutter Coho, and the sailboat was ultimately handed to a commercial salvage crew near Mayport, Florida. The sailor was safe; the cause of the breakdown was not reported.
On 21 June 2026, a 57-year-old French single-hander reported his yacht in difficulty off the southwest coast of Faial in the Azores at about 4 a.m. He climbed onto rocks as the boat grounded; poor sea conditions meant the Horta lifeboat could not take him off until 8:45 a.m. He was rescued exhausted and taken to hospital for checks.
On Saturday 16 May 2026, a sudden strong gust capsized a sailboat on the Lippesee, a lake near Paderborn in Germany, putting its three-person crew into the water. A DLRG rescue boat already on patrol nearby reached them quickly and brought all three out of the water safely. No injuries were reported.
On the night of 12 April 2026, a sailboat overturned at the entrance to Oceanside Harbor, California, spilling its two occupants into strong currents and breaking surf. Oceanside lifeguards aboard a Marine Safety vessel pulled both from the water. One person was taken to hospital in stable condition and the other was treated at the scene; neither was seriously hurt.
On Tuesday 26 May 2026, the US-flagged sailboat Karma ran aground at Playas de Tijuana, Mexico, after her solo owner fell asleep while sailing the Baja coast and woke as she struck the shore. He was unhurt, but the beached boat was then looted of solar panels and GPS, and refloating her proved so costly he considered selling her as she lay.
Just after 1 pm on 5 June 2026, a sailboat ran onto the Plateau des Bœufs at the Roches du Devin, a rocky shoal west of Île de Noirmoutier in France. The grounding hit hard enough to snap the mast. All three people aboard were rescued.
A 25-foot sailboat ran aground off Castle Island in South Boston on a Thursday, and the two people aboard were rescued from the cold harbour water and treated for hypothermia. Details are limited, but the pattern is a common one: a small boat aground close to a busy shore, with cold water the real danger.
On 13 September 2025, about five miles off Fonte da Telha near Lisbon, Portugal, Iberian orcas repeatedly struck the club sailboat Oceanview, breaking her rudder and holing the hull below the waterline. With the boat flooding, a nearby club vessel took off all five aboard; a tow attempt failed and Oceanview sank. The same day, a second sailboat was struck off Cascais but stayed afloat. Everyone was rescued unharmed.
On 3 August 2025 a daycruiser motorboat and a sailing trimaran collided in the busy inner Oslofjord near Fagerstrand, off Nesodden, Norway. Police said the motorboat operator acted negligently and struck the sailing vessel. The motorboat sank; the trimaran stayed afloat. Three people were involved and two were lightly injured, with no reported pollution.
In November 2025 the sailing yacht Magic Bus, bound from Stonington, Connecticut to the Bahamas, began flooding about 260 nautical miles off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Her five crew abandoned into a life raft, were located by a Coast Guard HC-130, and were all lifted off by an MH-60 helicopter — refuelled via the carrier USS George H.W. Bush — unhurt.
In October 2025 a gale at Mount Maunganui, New Zealand — westerlies gusting near 80 km/h — dragged two yachts, Right On and Orinoco, aground in Pilot Bay. The harbourmaster later secured a beached yacht, and no injuries were reported. It's a plain lesson in ground tackle failing on a lee shore in a blow.
On the morning of Tuesday 22 July 2025, a motorboat ran into a sailing yacht that was under sail in the Oslofjord, just south of Filtvet lighthouse off Asker, Norway. The motorboat struck the yacht midships, brought down its mast, and ended up on its foredeck. Three people were involved and all escaped injury. The motorboat's skipper, who appears to have been below deck, was treated as a suspect.
On 10 October 2025, about 50 nautical miles off Peniche, Portugal, orcas battered the rudder of the French-flagged sloop Ti'fare. The helm spun freely and within roughly 20 minutes the boat was flooding faster than the pumps could handle. The family of five aboard — two adults and three children — abandoned to a life raft, were picked up by a fishing boat, and were airlifted to safety by the Portuguese Air Force, unhurt.
Early on 1 December 2025 a Dutch couple delivering the 14-metre yacht Spiral of Life from Croatia to the Netherlands ran her aground at Nazaré, Portugal, around 0330. They said orcas had struck the hull and sent the rudder spinning, so the skipper steered for the beach as advised. Both reached shore unhurt; authorities were still investigating the orca claim.
On 5 August 2025, three years into a round-the-world voyage, the 74-year-old skipper of the New Zealand yacht Mollie was killed when he was drawn onto a powered winch about 2.8 miles off the Needles, Isle of Wight. Clearing a rope left turned around the faulty electric winch, his hand was caught and the winch pulled him onto the drum. An RNLI crew freed him, but he died of crush injuries.
Around 1 a.m. on 17 June 2025, the Australian racing catamaran Rushour — leading the Groupama Race — capsized in deteriorating weather off the Belep Islands, north of New Caledonia, when its six crew lost control. Two distress beacons were set off. After a roughly 12-hour search, a military aircraft and a Puma helicopter located the drifting hull and hoisted all six crew to safety; no one was lost.
On 21 October 2025, in fair weather, a German-flagged sailing yacht with three people aboard became uncontrolled and ran aground in the Messinian Gulf near Stoupa, in southern Greece. A coast guard patrol boat and a passing private vessel with a diver assisted, and the yacht was refloated and taken in tow toward Kalamata. No one was injured and no pollution was reported.
Late on a Sunday night in August 2025, a sailing yacht carrying two French nationals was dismasted in 6-7 Beaufort winds between Syros and Mykonos, in the Greek Cyclades, and issued an SOS. The Hellenic Coast Guard responded with a Super Puma helicopter and a ferry. The crew chose to stay aboard and a tug took the yacht in tow; both sailors were landed safely at Naoussa, on Paros, unhurt.
On the afternoon of 10 October 2025, about 90 km southwest of Peniche off Portugal's west coast, orcas attacked a sailing yacht carrying a family of five — two adults and three children. The hull was breached, the yacht took on water and sank, and the family took to their liferaft. A nearby fishing boat retrieved all five, and a Portuguese Air Force helicopter flew them ashore. Everyone was unharmed.
On 10 August 2025, a Greek-flagged sailing yacht carrying 11 people — ten Italians and one Greek — ran aground on a rocky stretch of coast near Kastrosykia, at Preveza on Greece's Ionian coast, in winds of up to 5 Beaufort. The exact cause was unclear. A Hellenic Coast Guard vessel and a diver responded, and all 11 aboard were evacuated safely, with no injuries reported.
On a Sunday evening in November 2025, the excursion catamaran Boca de Yuma 1 — a roughly 40-foot boat carrying about 55 cruise-ship tourists on a sunset trip — flooded after a sudden leak and sank quickly near Samaná Bay, in the Dominican Republic. Everyone aboard ended up in the water but was pulled to safety by the Dominican Navy and local residents, with no injuries reported. The cause is under investigation.
On 30 December 2025, in strong wind off Whananaki, Northland, a catamaran near Elizabeth Reef rolled and capsized, finishing upside down. The solo, experienced skipper was left on the overturned hull about 2-3 km offshore. Local boatie and surf lifeguard Gordon Pengelly launched his own small boat with a neighbour and pulled the skipper to safety. The skipper was unharmed; the catamaran later washed ashore at Sandy Bay, and his lifejacketed dog went missing.
On the night of 4–5 October 2025, the sailing yacht Magia lost her main mast and was left drifting with three people aboard between Anchieta and Vitória islands, off Ubatuba on Brazil's São Paulo coast. After they spent the night adrift, a Military Police helicopter located the boat the next morning and the three crew were rescued and brought ashore safely.
On the stormy first night of the Transat Café L'Or, 25–26 October 2025, the Ocean Fifty trimaran Inter Invest capsized in roughly 25-knot winds and 2.5-metre seas off the Cotentin, near Guernsey — one of three Ocean Fifties to flip that night. All the skippers were rescued safely, some winched out by helicopter in the dark. The light, fast trimarans proved vulnerable to the gusts.
In late December 2025, the Argentine sailing yacht Odisea, crossing the River Plate from Buenos Aires toward Riachuelo on the Uruguayan side, was left stranded and taking on water near the river mouth in the Colonia department. The Uruguayan Prefectura took the two crew off by launch, both in good condition, and the holed yacht was left beached. Reports differ on whether a malfunction or striking rocks caused it.
On a September 2025 night, the cruising catamaran Tayo, with four French recreational sailors aboard, began taking on water uncontrollably more than 50 nautical miles off Canet-en-Roussillon in the Gulf of Lion. The rescue centre CROSS Med was alerted around 4am and tasked a helicopter, which winched all four crew off the boat and flew them to Perpignan. Everyone was safe, with no reported injuries.
On 11 October 2024, a French sailor single-handing about 160 nautical miles from Mahé in the Seychelles found a leak and had just time to launch his liferaft before his yacht sank. He passed an approximate position by satellite phone but had no precise GPS fix, so it took about eight hours — by then tired and thirsty — before a diving support vessel located and rescued him. He survived unhurt.
In late November 2025, the 50-foot French cruising yacht Acteon was on passage from Réunion to Durban when a distress call went out on 27 November, relayed by a cargo ship in the Mozambique Channel about 200 nautical miles northeast of Beira. Both experienced sailors aboard — Deirdre Sibly, 67, of Australia, and Pascal Mahe of France — were found dead, and the yacht was left adrift. The cause has not been explained.
On 14 November 2025 at the mouth of the Tagus near Lisbon, the yacht Surf — two Belgians aboard, bound for Cascais — reported manoeuvring trouble at the bar entrance around 05:40 but declined help, saying they would wait for morning. By 07:18 the yacht was drifting, and it grounded off Algés. Both crew were rescued by 08:55, unhurt but mildly hypothermic; the boat awaited a tow.
The 40 ft J/122 Alliance struck a submerged object in the Gulf Stream around 2:45 a.m. on the third day of the 2024 Newport Bermuda Race, roughly 300 nm from land; she flooded and was lost, but all nine aboard were taken off by two competing boats that answered the Mayday.
Before dawn on 19 August 2024 the sailing yacht Bayesian was knocked down and foundered in a sudden, violent windstorm half a nautical mile off Porticello, Sicily. Of the 22 people aboard, seven died. The MAIB's interim report found the yacht was vulnerable to high winds and that, once heeled past about 70 degrees, recovery was impossible.
On 23 June 2024, a 75-year-old man sailing alone in the Oslofjord, off Langøya near Hurumlandet, was killed when a 43-foot cabin cruiser struck his sailing boat from astern. The sailing boat sank; he was found dead aboard it, while the cruiser was towed ashore. The cruiser's skipper was charged and later convicted of negligent homicide.
On a Sunday in April 2024, the French yacht Le Souffle de la Mer, racing solo around the world in the Global Solo Challenge, ran aground in Bahía Aguirre about 95 miles from Ushuaia, in Tierra del Fuego. Her lone skipper sent a distress alert; the Argentine Navy reached him in winds over 50 knots, extracted him by rubber boat in the afternoon, and towed the yacht back to Ushuaia that night. He was unhurt.
On 29 October 2023 the Argentine sailboat Carpe Diem lost her rudder and began flooding near the Farallón Island light off Colonia, Uruguay. The crew could not stop the water, and a pump failed to hold her. About two hours after the first distress call, Uruguay's Navy took off all twelve aboard; the boat sank with half its mast still showing. All twelve survived.
HISTORICAL (Nov 2023). During Storm Ciarán, a Norwegian sailor's yacht was critically damaged about 700 miles off south-west England. He sent a distress call late on 2 November 2023, and an RAF A400M Atlas and a Poseidon MRA1 flew far offshore to find him and coordinate a rescue well beyond helicopter range.
Anchor dragged during a sleeping watch with no alarm set; the boat grounded gently on a sandy beach overnight and was recovered undamaged at high water.
Around 2 November 2023, during a major European storm, a Norwegian-registered sailing yacht with a man aboard lost both masts in the open Atlantic far west of Cornwall and sent a distress call. British and French aircraft launched, and the RAF, with HM Coastguard, lifted the lone sailor to safety early that Friday. He was landed in England and treated for his injuries in what rescuers called one of their hardest missions.
In early September 2023, an inflatable catamaran on a round-the-world attempt was attacked by cookiecutter sharks in the Coral Sea, about 519 nautical miles south-east of Cairns. The bites holed both inflatable hulls over two days and sank the boat. The three crew — two Russians and a Frenchman — set off an emergency beacon and were recovered unharmed by a passing car carrier.
A Moody 54 dragged anchor at 03:00 during a Maltemi wind shift, slipping toward a moored Greek caïque before the anchor alarm woke the skipper.
Overnight on 19–20 March 2022, the cruising yacht Lorrigray II sank off the coast of Madagascar while on passage from Mayotte toward Richards Bay, South Africa. Her three crew — Swedish, Canadian and Italian — were rescued by the cargo ship Petalouda in Madagascan waters and brought back to Mayotte by the SNSM sea-rescue service, reaching shore safely on 22 March. The cause of the sinking was not reported.
On the evening of 25 May 2019 the motor yacht Vision attempted a fast, close pass of the anchored motor yacht Minx off Île Sainte-Marguerite, near Cannes. Vision struck Minx's bow, killing a crewman standing on Minx's foredeck. Vision was travelling at more than six times the anchorage's 5-knot limit, and her skipper had used cannabis, impairing his judgement.
Two charter yachts tied alongside dragged a combined anchor in a 40 kt bora gust, drifting 200 m before the inside boat fendered off a rock outcrop.
The Bavaria 47 Essence was abandoned and sank in 7.5-metre seas 25 nautical miles N-NE of Cape Brett; three of four crew survived.
On 4 January 2019, the yacht Kaerou was dismasted about 1,000 km from Réunion on passage between Australia and South Africa. The skipper alerted CROSS; a passing Cypriot bulk carrier, SAITA1, diverted and transferred about 300 litres of diesel and provisions some 343 nautical miles south of Réunion. The yacht motored on, and with SNSM help reached Réunion on 10 January — crew and boat both saved.
Forestay failure under reduced sail in 38 kt of wind; the crew of three cut the wreckage clear and made Brest under jury rig over three days.
In thick fog on 21 October 2018 the ro-ro ferry Red Falcon lost orientation in Cowes Harbour, left the channel and spun through 220°. Disorientated, her master drove the ferry the wrong way and collided with the moored yacht Greylag, sinking it on its mooring. The MAIB found the master became fixated on his electronic chart and cognitively overloaded, and that the risk to people sleeping aboard moored yachts had not been adequately managed.
Charter yacht dragged at 02:00 in a downburst and contacted a moored wooden trader; bow roller damage, caïque holed, both insured.
The 42 ft monohull Rauruahine was abandoned 80 nm WNW of Cape Reinga after a chainplate failure flooded the saloon; crew of two recovered by container ship.
Three of the four crew were thrown from the cockpit of the 10.8 m yacht Mollie Louise when she was knocked down in heavy seas 25 nm off the Humber estuary; all wore lifejackets but no safety lines, and one of the three died before the rescue helicopter recovered them.
On 9 July 2016 the cruising catamaran La Mangue Bleue left Mayotte for Madagascar with four aboard. At sea its two hulls separated when the bolted cross-beam connecting them failed — all 126 bolts had worked loose — and the boat broke apart. Two crew were rescued quickly by fishermen; two more drifted on a piece of hull for eleven days and 222 km before being found alive near Nosy Bé on 21 July. All four survived.
On Sunday 8 June 2014, the 31-foot Moody sailing yacht Orca was struck by the dredger Shoreway about 7 miles off Felixstowe, England, and sank within minutes. The dredger's bow-mounted equipment hid the yacht until seconds before impact, and neither vessel was keeping a proper lookout. Orca's skipper was pulled from the water by the dredger's rescue boat; his wife drowned in the sunken yacht.
The 40 ft Beneteau First Cheeki Rafiki lost its keel and capsized 720 nm SE of Nova Scotia during a delivery passage; four British crew lost.
On 28 May 2011, the commercially operated Beneteau 40.7 Liquid Vortex was racing the Myth of Malham in Lyme Bay when she suffered an accidental gybe that seriously injured one crew member. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch found that the skipper had driven the boat and crew hard, when — with many of the novice crew tired and seasick in demanding conditions — a more cautious and encouraging approach was warranted.
At 0027 on a dark, rough night on 18 June 2011, the skipper of the Reflex 38 racing yacht Lion went over the bow 14.5 miles south of Selsey Bill — wearing a lifejacket and clipped on. Still attached by his 1.8 m tether, he was towed at 9 knots, pinned against the leeward side, before the crew could slow the boat. It took 16 minutes to recover him to deck, where he was pronounced dead.
On the evening of 16 April 2007, the sailing yacht Whispa collided with the LPG carrier Gas Monarch in dense fog about 6 miles ESE of Lowestoft. No one was hurt on either vessel, and the yacht's damage was minor at first, but progressive flooding worsened it as a lifeboat towed her to Lowestoft. The MAIB found that both vessels had broken the collision-avoidance rules and misused their radars in the fog.
Italian-built 54 ft carbon racer; keel fastenings gave way en route Maldives → Red Sea, the yacht inverted in under 30 seconds — the couple drifted nine days in a leaking liferaft before a Belgian tug spotted them.
On 22 August 2007, 2.5 miles southwest of St Alban's Head, the Elan 333 cruiser-racer Buccaneer of Upnor gybed inadvertently while an inexperienced helmsman struggled to hold course in a northerly force 5-6 gusting 7. During the gybe the mainsheets swept the mate against the edge of the coachroof, causing fatal injuries. There were six people aboard, on a delivery passage from Plymouth to Gosport.
Late on 2 February 2007 the owner and four crew sailed the Max Fun 35 yacht Hooligan V from Plymouth toward Southampton after out-of-season repairs. At about 0320 the next morning, 10 miles south of Prawle Point, her fabricated steel keel detached and the yacht capsized without warning, killing one crew member. The MAIB traced the failure to fatigue cracking at a keel weld, worsened by design flaws and 160 kg of ballast added in 2005 without re-engineering.
On the night of 20 August 2006 the yacht Ouzo sailed from Bembridge, Isle of Wight for Dartmouth with her three regular crew, and was lost after an encounter with the ro-ro passenger ferry Pride of Bilbao. The yacht was never found. All three crew were recovered from the sea over the following days, in inflated lifejackets and good yachting clothing — but with no means to raise the alarm, none survived.
On the night of 6 February 2006, the 13.28 m wooden sailing yacht Ile D Yeu, with three aboard, was sunk in a collision with the coastal chemical tanker Dutch Progress about 4 miles east of Whitby. The tanker's officer had seen the yacht's red light at 4 miles but took no compass bearing or radar plot, and could not acquire the small wooden yacht on either radar. All three crew survived; the yacht was lost.
David Cottle was washed overboard during gale-force conditions and recovered by a Liberian-registered tanker after 70 minutes in the water.
On 21 June 2006, during a sailing-club race off Holyhead, the skipper of the 8-metre yacht Huw Jars fell overboard. He was not wearing a lifejacket. The crew recovered him within about ten minutes, but he had drowned. The MAIB urged the club to require lifejackets, ensure a competent backup crew member can take over if the skipper goes over or is incapacitated, and establish man-overboard procedures and equipment.
In heavy winds in Southampton Water on 20 May 2006, the IMX 38 racing yacht Roaring Meg of Cowes suffered two accidental gybes on the same passage, seriously injuring two of her crew. The accident, near Hamble Point, was investigated by the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch.
On the night of 17 March 2006, during a delivery of the 9 m yacht Pastime from Hamble to Plymouth, the delivery skipper went overboard at about 2330 — not wearing his lifeline. Electrical failures had knocked out the GPS, and the VHF soon stopped working, so the owner could not pass a position. Three RNLI lifeboats, five merchant ships and a coastguard helicopter searched; the skipper's body and the yacht were eventually found.
Soon after leaving her Portsmouth berth on 16 April 2005, a smoke alarm sounded in the forward cabin of the 14 m coded charter yacht Inseyandra, ten aboard. Spare sails and kit stowed around the bow-thruster motor had displaced a metal cover onto a power terminal; using the thruster caused a short circuit that set the gear alight. The crew put the fire out with a dry-powder extinguisher and diverted to a marina. No one was hurt.
On 2 July 2005 the small sailing dinghy Mollyanna capsized off Puffin Island, North Wales, in force 5–6 winds and 1.5-metre seas. It inverted and could not be held upright. The owner died within about ten minutes; his son and two grandsons clung to the hull for over an hour until a charter fishing boat found them. The youngest child also died. The dinghy failed the buoyancy and stability standard for its design category.
On 2 June 2005 the 277 m container ship OOCL Malaysia was outbound from Southampton when the pilot saw the 6.7 m wooden yacht Ibis about to enter the moving prohibited zone ahead. A launch was sent to tell Ibis to hold clear, but her singlehanded skipper tacked, lost the wind, and was caught in the ship's path. He jumped clear and was picked up by the launch; Ibis was run down and foundered. No one was hurt.
On 21 June 2005, ending a delivery from southeast Spain to Ipswich, the 11.2 m sailing yacht Siesta ran aground at night on the Long Sand in the Thames Estuary. After attempts to heel and motor her off failed, the skipper went over the side with a rope around his waist to lay a kedge anchor; the line fouled the propeller and dragged him under. A crewman freed him, but he died despite a helicopter evacuation.
While anchored in the Comber River near Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland, the 7.9 m yacht Pinocchio dragged her anchor until her masthead touched overhead 11,000-volt power cables on 3 June 2004. The owner received an electric shock with burns to his right hand and arm, and the yacht caught fire and was completely destroyed.
At 1100 UTC on 28 May 2003, the container ship P&O Nedlloyd Vespucci and the yacht Wahkuna collided in poor visibility in the English Channel, and the yacht sank. The MAIB found a chain of failures: the yacht's skipper misread which collision rules apply in fog, the ship's master over-trusted his radar and accepted a small passing distance, neither vessel kept an effective radar lookout, and the ship was travelling too fast for the conditions.
A sailing student was knocked overboard by the boom when the Etchells 22 keelboat Wahoo gybed accidentally off Yarmouth, Isle of Wight. Two instructors following in a diesel launch could not recover him from the water; though he at first reported no injuries, he quickly tired, lost consciousness, and — despite continuous resuscitation — was later declared dead.
On 7 August 1999 the yacht Bluebell of Warsash was struck on her starboard side by the bulbous bow of an unidentified ship about 23 miles south of The Needles, Isle of Wight. One of the four crew threw himself over the side just before impact and was recovered; three crew were injured, two airlifted to hospital. The yacht reached the Needles, met an RNLI lifeboat, and was towed to Yarmouth. The ship was never identified.
On 8 October 1997 the yacht Ocean Madam capsized during heavy weather in the Bay of Biscay. One of her three crew lost his life; the two survivors were rescued by a French naval helicopter. The loss was investigated by the UK Marine Accident Investigation Branch.