Norwegian yacht Alice II rescued off ireland

[Allio]

From the Irish Times

Norwegian couple rescued from stricken yacht in Atlantic - Irish News, World News & More | The Irish Times - Thu, May 23, 2013


Norwegian couple rescued from stricken yacht in Atlantic

Couple spent three days stranded after raging seas damaged their boat

A Norwegian couple are today recovering in West Cork after they were saved from a damaged yacht foundering off the Irish coast.
Erik (62) and Gretta (62) Ostberg from Haugesund in Norway spent three days stranded in the Atlantic after raging seas damaged their yacht, the Alice II.
The 10-metre wooden yacht lost its main mast and a spar from its bow used to anchor the main sail when it was hit by heavy seas.
The couple were unable to issue a May Day alert to get assistance as the yacht lost its VHF radio antenna on Monday when the main mast fell.
The incident happened some 250km off Mizen Head as the couple were on their way from the Azores to the Hebrides on their return voyage home to Norway.
They eventually used flares to highlight their distress and they were spotted by the French trawler, Bikain who tried to get a tow rope aboard the stricken yacht.
However, the couple were so exhausted they were unable to pick up the tow rope and the trawler came alongside and put a crew member on board to assist them.
The French trawler escorted them to the Naval Service vessel LE Aoife.
Two members of the Naval Service went aboard the stricken yacht which was then taken under tow to Castletownbere in a journey that took two days.
Castletownbere RNLI Lifeboat, the Annette Hutton was launched yesterday evening and met the LE Aoife near Ardnakinna Lighthouse.
The RNLI Lifeboat brought the couple m ashore where Mrs Ostberg was treated for mild shock.
Last night, the couple expressed their gratitude to all involved in their rescue, particularly the Irish Naval Service who towed them for two days.
“We are very happy to be ashore. We were very worried when the mast came down,” said Mr Ostberg. “We would like to thank everyone and we are especially grateful to the Irish navy. I do not know what we would have done without them. They were very, very kind.”

[goboatingnow]

It's great all survived , even the boat.

Dave

[nigel1]

Good to see it ends well.
Short video clip taken from the lifeboat Anette Hutton

Video Details

[marc2012]

A good ending for the Alice II & crew.marc

[conachair]

Originally Posted by nigel1

Good to see it ends well.

Could have been the other way. Ta for vid link, must have been a rolly horrible few days out the with no mast.

[nigel1]

Originally Posted by conachair

Could have been the other way. Ta for vid link, must have been a rolly horrible few days out the with no mast.

Really unpleasant I guess, but on the plus side, they get a trip to Castletownbere which is nice spot on the SW coast of Ireland.

[boatman61]

Job well done...
my compliments to France and Ireland for turning out good seamen

[S/V Alchemy]

Looks like an old Colin Archer. I'm glad all turned out well.

[SVNeko]

Sounds like it all happened as it was supposed to have. Nice that everyone and boat are safe. What is the "spar from its bow used to anchor the main sail" referenced in the report?

[westsail374]

Originally Posted by SVNeko

Sounds like it all happened as it was supposed to have. Nice that everyone and boat are safe. What is the "spar from its bow used to anchor the main sail" referenced in the report?

Looks from the video like they are referring to the bowsprit, which looks to have been broken and stowed on deck.

Glad it turned out so well. Need for more safety gear on this fine looking boat, IMHO.