Three sailors rescued after abandoning yacht near Morgans Bay

Three sailors were rescued after they abandoned their yacht near Morgans Bay on the Transkei Coast when it started to sink.

A search for the sinking yacht and the three sailors was launched at about 4am on Thursday after one of the crew members managed to call his wife -reporting that they were abandoning the vessel.

East London National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) station commander Geoff McGreggor said that the sailor's wife had contacted them following the phone call from her husband. 

The men, from Durban, Kimberley and Johannesburg, were travelling on the yacht, called Quick Silver, from East London to Durban.

The yacht left East London on Wednesday.

McGreggor said the initial report stated the yacht was sinking off the Kei River Mouth – near Morgans Bay - and that the men had jumped into a life-raft.

Two rescue craft and a rescue vehicle were dispatched to search for the men.

By daybreak, the Emergency Medical Services rescue helicopter joined the search.

“During an extensive search, the EMS rescue helicopter located the life-raft 2.5 nautical miles off-shore of Morgan Bay… Our 2 NSRI sea rescue craft were guided to the life-raft by the rescue helicopter and all three men have been rescue.”

McGreggor said the crew had been taken to East London where they are making arrangements to salvage their yacht which appears to have re-floated in the high tide and drifting at sea - close to shore.

The causes of what led to the incident are unknown but the South African Maritime Safety Authority has been alerted and will be investigating.