Crew link arms to stay afloat after racing yacht turns turtle off Fastnet

Five crew members thrown into the Atlantic after a racing yacht suddenly capsized stayed together in a swell by linking arms.

Twenty-one people on board were rescued off the Irish coast after the US-registered boat, Rambler 100, flipped as it competed in the Fastnet Race.

Mick Harvey, its project manager, said: “It was a scary moment. I can’t begin to tell you how relieved I am that all of the crew are safe.” Skipper of the 100ft (30.5m) vessel George David and his partner Wendy Touton were two of the crew thrown into the sea. “Five of the crew were swept away by the waves out of reach of the stricken yacht… The group linked arms, forming a circle,” Mr Harvey said.

The five, including a man in his 70s, were in the water for two hours before being picked up by local dive boat, Wave Chieftain. Ms Touton was airlifted to Kerry Hospital suffering hypothermia and was recovering yesterday.

The keel is believed to have broken, unbalancing the boat and forcing it to “turtle”. Mr Harvey said some crew members had been asleep at the time and were lucky to get out alive.

The Rambler 100 was leading the monohull fleet and vying for victory in the Rolex Fastnet Race when disaster struck 16 miles (26km) from Baltimore, County Cork, just before 6pm on Monday.

Mr Harvey added “We heard the sickening sound of the keel breaking off. It was instantaneous – there was no time to react.”