Navy

Former Royal Marine 'Treated Like Prince' After Yacht Rescue

This article was first published on June 12, 2017.

A 73-year-old solo yachtsman has described how he was 'treated like a prince' after being rescued in an "extreme" storm by an ocean liner.

Mervyn Wheatley, a father-of-two who served 33 years in the Royal Marines, was rescued in the North Atlantic from his stricken yacht by the Queen Mary 2 (above).

The former officer, who was taking part in a solo transatlantic race when his boat was severely damaged and swamped with water, had considered sailing 1,500 miles back to Britain before he was picked up. He told The Times from the QM2:

"It would have put a lot of strain on my family. I also realised things were getting pretty marginal."

He reportedly believed he could rescue himself, with a plan involving a garden hose, but eventually opted to complete the crossing aboard the luxury cruise ship.

Having never been on a cruise before, the experienced yachtsman had dinner with the captain in a borrowed jacket before returning to his state room - with private balcony and concierge - on Sunday night. He said:

"I think I did incomparably better being rescued by the QM2, certainly as far as the aftercare is concerned. I have been treated like a prince."

Mr Weatley, an experienced sailor with 19 transatlantic crossings - eight of them single-handed - under his belt, admitted being "snooty" about cruises prior to his ordeal.

However, impressed by the QM2's well-drilled rescue team and facilities on board, his opinion appears to have changed.

After 36 hours pumping water from his stricken yacht by hand, he was lifted aboard the cruise ship at around 1pm on Saturday.

Passengers greeted him with applause as he and the rescue boat were hoisted on to the 10th deck. He said:

"I deliberately didn't acknowledge it because I didn't deserve it. The people who deserved it were the boat crew."

Several yachts in the Royal Western Yacht Club (RWYC) Original Singlehanded Transatlantic Race, known as Ostar, and its two-handed competition were hit by the tempest last week.

Tossed around in 15m waves and lashed by winds reaching 80mph, Mr Wheatley's yacht, Tamarind, was knocked on its side, submerging the mast and breaking a window.

Tamarind, an American cruiser he had owned since 1998, was ultimately scuttled so it would not pose a threat to shipping.

Mervyn Wheatley skippered one of the eight boats to take part in the inaugural Clipper Round the World Race in 1996. Picture: RWYC

Mr Wheatley, who escaped serious injury save some "impressive bruises" in the ordeal, vowed to buy another boat and continue sailing.

It was the fifth time he had competed in the Ostar and he had planned to sail back single-handed, with the 6,500-nautical-mile voyage ending in July or August.

Among his achievements is skippering one of the eight boats to take part in the inaugural Clipper Round the World Race in 1996, which he also competed in again in 2005/6.