Tayo - Catamaran floods 50 miles offshore; four French sailors winched off in the night
While sailing more than 50 nautical miles off Canet-en-Roussillon, the catamaran Tayo began taking on water uncontrollably; CROSS Med scrambled a helicopter that winched all four crew to safety before dawn.
What happened.
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 a night in September 2025, in the small hours of the morning, the cruising catamaran Tayo was more than 50 nautical miles — nearly 90 kilometres — off Canet-en-Roussillon, in the Gulf of Lion off France's Mediterranean coast, when she began taking on water that her crew could not control. The four people aboard, all French recreational sailors, put out a call for help, and at around 4am the regional maritime rescue coordination centre, CROSS Med, was alerted. Because the catamaran was so far offshore and the flooding could not be stemmed, the decision was made to lift the crew rather than attempt to save the boat. A rescue helicopter reached the position in the dark and winched all four sailors off one by one, then flew them to Perpignan airport. No injuries were reported. It was a textbook offshore flooding emergency resolved the right way: a timely call to the right authority, a clear position, and a calm evacuation by air before the situation could turn into a tragedy far from land.
What it teaches.
- 1Find the leak fast and know your defences. Uncontrollable ingress usually means water is coming in faster than the pumps can clear it. Know your seacocks, hose runs and likely failure points; carry softwood bungs, self-amalgamating tape and a high-capacity emergency pump or bucket; and check the bilge often so you catch flooding early.
- 2Call early, with a clear position. These sailors alerted CROSS Med while they still had time, and a precise fix let a helicopter find them in the dark 50 miles out. Carry a registered EPIRB and VHF/DSC, send a Mayday with your position before the boat is overwhelmed, and keep a backup beacon to hand.
- 3Be ready for a helicopter lift far offshore. Winching at night demands a clear deck, no loose lines aloft to foul the cable, lifejackets on, and crew briefed to follow the winch operator. Prepare the abandon-ship grab-bag and don your gear before the helicopter arrives, not while it is overhead.
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