When storm Ciaran hit Western Europe, a Norwegian-registered sailboat with connections to Vestland sailed out into the Atlantic.

By Thursday morning, the ship had arrived about 600 nautical miles west of Land’s End in Cornwall in the west of England.

That’s what he was wrong about.

As a result of the powerful storm, both masts of the 14 meter long sailing ship were broken.

Before NRK who first mentioned this problem.

Sending planes

Inside was a Norwegian man in his 60s. When he activated the emergency direction finder on the sailboat, the alarm at the Main Rescue Center in Northern Norway went off.

– Because the ship is registered in Norway, we were informed, said rescue assistant manager Erlend Sæterbø Hassel.

They saw that his position was within the UK search and rescue area of ​​responsibility, and contacted the rescue center there to ensure they had also received the message.

They have that.

– The boat was too far for us to reach with our usual resources, an official at JRCC UK, which is the rescue center in the UK, told BT.

They contacted the French, who sent a plane to the ship to ensure the captain was still alive, the Royal Air Force wrote in its account. website.

Yes, but the condition of the boat is very bad, according to JRCC officials.

And the lifeboat was gone.

– We are worried that the ship will sink, he said.

– Great opportunity to sail on coal

Both masts were broken, but at least one of them was said to still be attached to the boat, and was being pulled back with ropes and so on.

– The sea was very rough, and most likely he wanted to sail with coal, said the officer.

JRCC sent a request to Greece’s 250-meter tanker “Green Azure” if they could help. They headed towards the victim, but the distance was quite far.

While waiting for the tanker to arrive, British planes circled the wreck several times to ensure the man was still on board.

If he had reached the sea, they could have dropped rescue equipment with a parachute, according to the Royal Air Force.

– Pull it up

At a rescue center in the United Kingdom, they wrote messages to men on sailboats using emergency direction finders, JRCC officials said.

– They also contacted him via VHF, and told him that help was on the way.

But that takes time. It wasn’t until Saturday afternoon that the tanker arrived.

– The tanker took a significant risk by changing its course, JRCC officials said.

By then, the Norwegian had been waiting on the drifting boat for more than two days.

The rescue operation itself was not easy.

In high waves, it was impossible to launch a small boat to take the person on board.

– The tanker lay right next to it and pulled it to the right side of the ship, the officer said.

Fly to the hospital

When they woke him up, the Norwegian was in pretty good shape and in good spirits, he said.

After he was picked up, the storm got worse.

– He’s very lucky. “Had he been out there in the worst conditions, I’m afraid he wouldn’t be with us anymore,” he said.

After he was rescued, the man should not be so lucky.

According to officers, the man must have fallen on the bridge of the tanker and suffered an injury to his leg.

– On Sunday he was flown by helicopter to hospital, said the official, who said he should not have been seriously injured.

BT has not been able to obtain an update on the man’s health condition.