Grounding at sea.

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.

On the afternoon of 11 October 2026 the German-flagged sailboat Hai Hamburg, a 14 m two-master with three people aboard, ran aground on a sandbank at the mouth of the Minho River as she left Caminha, Portugal. The Maritime Police took all three to Caminha harbour. Nobody was hurt.

On 24 September 2026 a lone sailor's 25-ft sailboat ran aground on a beach on Santa Rosa Island in California's Channel Islands. He called the Coast Guard on VHF channel 16, and an MH-60 Jayhawk from Air Station Ventura lifted him off unhurt. A tow company later recovered the boat to Ventura Harbor.

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.

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 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.

In early August 2026, a sloop ran aground on rocks at St Leonards-on-Sea, near Hastings on England's East Sussex coast, and sank. The skipper swam ashore unaided and unharmed; the cause of the grounding was not reported.

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 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.

Before dawn on 14 October 2026 a sailboat anchored in Xero cove, on Peristera near Alonissos, lost her anchor in a north-east gale and was driven onto rocks. The British couple aboard climbed into a cave. Coast Guard officers on a private boat took them off. They had hypothermia but recovered.

On 31 August 2026 a Polish-flagged sailboat with two people aboard ran aground near Kouloura islet in the Methoni Strait, off the south-western Peloponnese, and began taking on water. The wind was a light north-easterly. A private boat with a diver and Hellenic Coast Guard officers went to her; both people aboard were unhurt.

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.

Early on 11 October 2026 a sailboat went aground in the surf off Coronado, California, and flooded with a man trapped in the cabin. A Coast Guard helicopter rescue swimmer gave him his snorkel so he could breathe, tore open part of the cabin roof and got him out. He was handed to paramedics in San Diego.

In October 2026 a UK-flagged sailboat ran onto a sandy patch off Sidari, on the north coast of Corfu, and began taking on water. The one person aboard left the boat and reached the shore unaided. No one was hurt. The cause and the boat's fate were not reported.

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.

Before dawn on 19 September 2026 a 10 m yacht carrying two adults and their children, aged 9 and 12, ran aground on Elizabeth Reef on the Great Barrier Reef, about 100 km north of the Whitsundays. A rescue helicopter from Mackay winched all four off at sunrise. The father was treated for head injuries.

On 21 August 2026, during Hamilton Island Race Week, the 25 m Oyster 825 Viva La Vida struck what is believed to be a rock or reef while running downwind under spinnaker at low tide. She lost her keel bulb, took on water faster than a pump could clear it, listed and capsized. All ten aboard were taken off unhurt by support vessels.

On 9 August 2026, a sailboat with six Greek nationals aboard ran aground on a rocky seabed off Moutsouna, on Naxos's east coast. All six reached shore on their own, uninjured; the cause of the grounding was not reported.

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.

In September 2026 a German sailboat with two aboard, on passage to the Caribbean, suffered a breakdown off Asturias and was carried by the tide onto the rocks at Concha de Artedo, Cudillero. The hull was damaged; both crew were unhurt. A later headline reports she was got off successfully.

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.

On 29 July 2026, a German-flagged sailboat with two German nationals aboard ran aground in Elounda Bay, Crete. Both were unharmed. A Coast Guard patrol boat freed the vessel, which then made its own way into the port of Elounda under escort.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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 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.

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.

Around midnight on 21 August 2026 a French sailing catamaran on delivery from the Mediterranean to France ran onto the Praia Norte breakwater at Viana do Castelo, northern Portugal, and was destroyed. Her two crew got ashore by their own means, uninjured. The cause is under investigation.

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.

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 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.

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 26 December 2025, the sailboat Odisea struck rocks near the mouth of the Arroyo Riachuelo, Uruguay, opening a leak that compromised the hull within minutes. Uruguay's Prefectura Naval rescued both crew by boat, and the boat itself was left grounded on the beach.

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.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.