Moment Police Save Stranded Couple On Yacht During Storm Off Essex Coast

Officers bravely rescued the couple Roy Harris and Caroline Wilson and brought both them and their yacht back to shore. ESSEX POLICE VIA SWNS.

“>

Essex police saved a terrified couple after an unexpected storm hit their 40ft yacht off the Essex coast.

Roy Harris and partner Caroline Wilson were sailing in their vessel, the Samphire, when a storm whipped up and took them by surprise.

After the yacht became damaged Harris sent out a distress call requesting emergency assistance.

Essex Police’s Marine Unit was scrambled and found the couple near the Gunfleet Sands off-shore windfarm, four miles off Clacton.

Officers bravely rescued the couple – who had been scared for their lives – and brought both them and their yacht back to shore.

Harris and his partner had been sailing back to the River Crouch in Essex from Kent’s Isle of Sheppey last Sunday (August 25) when they suddenly hit stormy conditions.

Having been sailing for more than six hours, the storm – which hadn’t been forecast – damaged the yacht, which began taking on water.

The exhausted couple radioed a PAN-PAN message to alert nearby boats and emergency services that their vessel had an urgent problem.

Sergeant Alex Southgate, PC John Perry and special constable Scott Mccabe were on Operation Wave-Breaker patrols in the force’s rib, Sentinel, when they picked up the distress call and rushed out to the Samphire.

Working with the Dover Coastguard Operations Centre, they located the yacht and rescued the distressed couple.

Harris heaped praise on Essex Police’s maritime unit for saving their lives and admitted he wouldn’t have sailed had he known they would have hit a storm.