The crew of Helical Bar managing director Mike Slade’s £3m yacht were forced to abandon ship last night after it was swamped by 23ft-high Atlantic waves.
The 90ft-long Leopard of London, which was heading back to Southampton from the Caribbean, was left rudderless and adrift 450 miles from land on Tuesday after bad weather holed the bottom of the boat and broke the rudder.
Owner Slade is currently on holiday skiing.
The seven-strong crew, captained by Australian Chris Sherlock, called the Falmouth coastguards before spending 36 hours pumping water out of the yacht’s living quarters.
They finally left the yacht on life rafts at 8pm last night. They were picked up unharmed by a Lebanese registered merchant ship, Kurzeme, and are being taken to La Coruna, Spain. When the crew left Leopard was still taking on water.
A tug has been sent from Falmouth to retrieve the yacht, but coastguards estimate it will not arrive until some time tomorrow morning.
John Bremner, who runs Slade’s Ocean Marine Yacht Management, said: “The situation has been exacerbated by the weather. At the moment Leopard is rudderless and crewless, 425 nautical miles from land, in 35 knot winds.
“It will make it very difficult for the tug to retrieve her. It is very likely that the tug will have to stand by until the weather calms, which will be in about five days’ time.”
He added: “We expect her to still be floating when the tug arrives tomorrow. But if she is rolled by a large wave she could be damaged further.”
Leopard spent the winter in the Caribbean being chartered to tourists and businesses for £24,000 per week.
EGi News 04/04/02
