A sailor has been rescued after a 16ft sailing vessel capsized in rough seas, south-west of The Needles lighthouse off the Isle of Wight, on England’s south coast.
Emergency services were alerted shortly before 11am on Saturday (18 October 2025) after the vessel’s sole occupant issued a mayday call. In sea conditions described as “challenging”, the Border Force vessel HMC Valiant located the upturned yacht about two nautical miles south-west of The Needles, with the sailor clinging to the hull.
Solent Rescue 1, which had been on routine training near Lepe, was diverted to assist, along with Freshwater Independent Lifeboat and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency’s Search and Rescue Helicopter 175.
In a statement, Solent Rescue says: “Solent Rescue 1 was conducting routine training this morning near Lepe before being diverted alongside our colleagues Maritime and Coastguard Agency Search and Rescue Helicopter 175 and Freshwater Independent Lifeboat to assist with an upturned 16 foot sailing vessel south west of The Needles lighthouse, when the sole occupant sent out a mayday call – the international signal to notify of life threatening distress.
“Despite facing challenging conditions as they left the Solent, our volunteer crew arrived in just over 10 minutes. Thankfully, the passing border force vessel HMC Valiant had located the casualty clinging to the upturned hull, and our lifeboat crew were able to manoeuvre alongside and recover them.”
A Solent Rescue spokesperson said the sailor was transferred to the Border Force vessel for a medical assessment before being taken to Yarmouth. The sailing vessel later sank.
Solent Rescue added that the incident occurred at the same time as its fundraising team was collecting in Hythe. “The pager notification made a few people jump, but very kindly donating so that we can continue helping people in distress,” the charity said.
Solent Rescue is a registered charity run entirely by volunteers.
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