A solo crossing on a sailing boat that could have turned into a tragedy for a Spanish skipper who left Crete on April 11th and headed to Sicily. Due to bad weather conditions, the sailor found himself at the mercy of the sea and there had been no news of him for days. Until Friday afternoon, when the Coast Guard has identified “Black Bit”, a 12 meter sailing vessel, off the coast of Calabria.
The rescue
The extraordinary rescue operation concluded successfully at first light. The alarm was given by the Piraeus rescue center in Greece, which received a satellite signal indicating the possible position of the vessel 110 miles from Cape Spartivento, approximately 200 kilometers from the Calabrian coast. The Coast Guard, coordinated by the Maritime Directorate of Reggio Calabria, immediately activated the rescue machine. A plane took off from Catania and a patrol boat departed from Roccella Jonica, while two freighters were diverted to the area to assist in the search operations. Despite the terrible weather conditions, with winds blowing at 40 knots and a worsening rough grade 5 sea, the determination of the rescuers did not waver. The vessel was spotted by the Coast Guard aircraft. The sailor, showing an incredible spirit of survival, managed to launch light signals that allowed him to be precisely located.
How are you
In the middle of the night, the CP311 patrol boat from Roccella Jonica reached the sailor, bringing him on board in safe conditions. After the initial medical treatment provided directly on the patrol boat, the sailor was transferred to the 118 health workers who were waiting for him at the port of Roccella, where he arrived this morning.
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