Yacht pinned to harbour wall by storm sinks

by Sail-World Cruising/News & Star on 21 Dec 2010 A British sailor who tried to bring his yacht into harbour during a 40 knot storm has lost his yacht when it was smashed and holed by the harbour wall of Whitehaven, a coastal town near the Lakes District area of England.

Derek (Des) Johnson, 53, said after the incident that he was refused entry into the lock gate to enter the inner harbour. He had been sailing his 22ft boat 'The Tern' from Harrington Harbour to Ravenglass, but anchored outside Whitehaven Harbour when a force 8 storm was forecast in 12-18 hours time.

'I stopped at Whitehaven Harbour yesterday at about 4pm, because of the forecast,' he told the http://www.newsandstar.co.uk [Sorry, this link had a problem]s_&_Star.

However, he went out at around 2am the next morning to move his boat to safety because the winds were at 25 knots.

'I was refused entry in to the lock gate,' he said. 'As the tide was coming in it was so rough it totally flooded the boat.'

He said at first the water drained but as the waves got higher as the force of the winds grew stronger, the boat broke loose from its anchor.

When Mr Johnson contacted authorities, they were concerned about the condition of the vessel and contacted Liverpool Coastguard. At 0540 Mr Johnson had still not entered the harbour and contacted the authorities again to report that he was taking on water. By this time the wind was gusting 42 knots and had veered to the north-west, pinning The Tern against the pier in the outer harbour.

'I was standing in the cabin, the water was up to my neck. The waves were coming over the sides.'

Having broken loose, the vessel was then smashed against the pier and it began to sink after a hole was ripped in its bow. An RNLI all-weather lifeboat was launched at 0630 to rescue the skipper from the flooded yacht. After being rescued he was treated for hypothermia and two dislocated fingers at a local hospital. One rescuer was injured by the yacht's flailing boom and also required hospital treatment.

He says the damage caused to his yacht means he will never be able to sail it again, ending his 50-year sailing dream. 'I've lost a 50-year-old dream. When I was four-years-old it was my dream to buy a yacht. It’s taken me 50 years to buy one and I was hoping to be in Ibiza for the summer, but now it’s wrecked.'

Paul Campbell, watch manager at Liverpool Coastguard, said: 'This was quite an awkward job in very difficult and deteriorating weather conditions.

'Fortunately the skipper is now safely in hospital and our own coastguard rescue officer was given a check by the A&E department and discharged.'