Man pulled from sea after yacht sinks off Welsh coast

The sailor was pulled from the sea by the RNLI's inshore lifeboat from Holyhead, after being directed there by HM Coastguard

A sailor was pulled from the water after his boat smashed into a rock and sank off the coast of Anglesey.

Chris Cowlard, 71, from Porthmadog, Gwynedd, ran into trouble at the Skerries, a group of islets off Anglesey, on 24 June when his yacht hit a submerged rock.

The retired firefighter and experienced yachtsman was forced to abandon his 26ft (8m) boat in his life jacket and wait to be rescued after a wave took out his life raft.

He was pulled from the sea by the RNLI's inshore lifeboat from Holyhead, after being directed there by HM Coastguard.

"There was a thumping great bang. I knew what was happening immediately. I was being lifted by the waves and dropped.

"The mast went down and over the side," he said.

Three weeks previously, Mr Cowlard had bought an emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) which he was able to broadcast his location with.

It meant he was able to share a radio mayday as soon as he got into trouble accurately showing where he was, before inflating his lifejacket and going into the churning sea.

Chris Cowlard's boat smashed at the Skerries, a group of islets off Anglesey

"I could hear them say they were receiving the EPIRB and it was in a similar position to mine. I just said a quick prayer not to let me die."

Mr Cowlard said he heard a voice from the radio so he was confident someone had received his mayday call.

He was pulled from the water 30 minutes later and he said all he felt was a bump on his shoulder.

"I was so relieved. The moment I hit the bottom of that lifeboat I knew I was safe."

The sailor was taken to Ysbyty Gwynedd Hospital in Bangor via search and rescue helicopter.

He was cold and had suffered a bang to the nose but was otherwise unharmed.

"When I called my wife Pauline she said, 'You have done what?!'" Mr Cowlard recalled. "I said to her, 'Is there any chance you could pick me up from the hospital and bring a complete set of clothes?'"

Thanking HM Coastguard and the RNLI for the "textbook" rescue, Mr Cowlard said: "I was not getting out of it on my own, that's for sure. Without them, I would have bobbed around until I fell unconscious.