Wanted since Monday, the sailboat and its captain in difficulty were repatriated by the SNSM to Sète

The small 11-metre sailboat was brought back to the quay by the volunteer crew of the Sète SNSM boat. Hélène Amiraux

La SNSM de Sète s’est rendue à 25 milles nautiques au contact d’un voilier en perdition. Midi Libre – EVA TISSOT

Les recherches pour repérer le voilier et son capitaine, apparemment malade, ont été lancées dès lundi 26 août au large de Sète. Des moyens marins et aériens ont été mobilisés.

The SNSM boat from Sète set sail on Tuesday, August 27, around 9:30 a.m., commissioned by Cross Med (Regional Operational Center for Surveillance and Rescue in the Mediterranean) to come to the aid of a sailing boat in distress 25 miles off the coast of Sète.

An SOS launched on Monday

The search had already been launched the day before at around 10am, when the same Cross Med had alerted the Sète station concerning this same sailboat named Solo model Oceanis 390 and whose captain had apparently launched an SOS. The latter being apparently ill, the sails of his boat also being torn, the rescue services set off towards a point located precisely 25 miles from Sète.

The first searches began at 10am on Monday 26 August. The investigations were carried out for a good part of the day with the support of a helicopter from the civil security of the Pyrénées-Orientales (66). The ship was spotted early in the morning, thanks in particular to messages broadcast on the sailors' VHF network.

72 hours at the helm 

The captain was brought back safe and sound to Sète around 1:30 p.m. by volunteers from the Sète SNSM. The captain, who had just bought the boat, had just launched it. The engine broke down quickly on Sunday. Coming from Martigues, the man remained at the helm for around 72 hours without being able to eat properly. Exhausted and dehydrated, he called for help.