TWISTER
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Yacht abandoned in storm off Whalsay Island
The 'Twister' started taking on water in heavy weather, about 14 nautical miles east of Whalsay Island in the Shetland archipelago, on Sep 30. 2026, with a Norwegian solo sailor on board. The yacht had sailed from Bergen on Sep 28 towards the North Sea, and was facing a force seven to eight southeasterly wind. On the early afternoon, the skipper made a "Pan-Pan" call via the marine VHF radio. The Norwegian trawler 'Hargun' (IMO: 9975674) and the British fisheries patrol vessel 'Hirta' (IMO: 9386794) responded. At 2.30 p.m., the HM Coastguard tasked the Lerwick lifeboat crew to respond. Ten minutes later, the ALB left the port, and despite challenging weather conditions, it reached an average speed of approximately 23 knots. At around 4 p.m., it arrived alongside the yacht. At that point, there was already so much water accumulated in the yacht, that the skipper decided to abandon ship. The 'Hargun' remained nearby and offered some protection from the wind and waves. The sailor then transferred directly from his yacht to the lifeboat. At 5:30 p.m., the lifeboat crew returned to Lerwick, where the sailor was taken into the care of a Coastguard team. The abandoned sailboat was adrift east of the Outer Skerries. The transmssion ended on Oct 1 at 02:17 a.m. UTC southeast of Yell Island, after the boat had continued to drift for nearly 40 nautical miles in northeastern direction. Weather conditions were south-easterly force 7-8, near gale to gale force winds with heavy sea swell. Report with photo: https://rnli.org/news-and-media/2026/september/30/rnli-lerwick-rescues-sailor-who-abandoned-yacht-taking-in-water-in-rough-seas
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