It was only this Friday morning, shortly before 8am, that the alert was raised by an oyster barge after fishermen spotted a capsized dinghy, empty of occupants, drifting in Quiberon Bay. The small sailboat, named “Baba Hoyo II”, had not been the subject of any reports before.
Without knowing how many people it was necessary to try to find, major search operations were launched in the area using four SNSM boats and firefighters and a Navy helicopter. Not to mention the general alert broadcast to all other sea users.
He finds refuge on an islet
The surprise came from a call from the Saint-Julien semaphore, an hour after the search began, stating that “a man was making signs from the islet of Bagen Hir”, explains the maritime prefecture. The helicopter was sent to the scene and a 22-year-old man was indeed recovered. He confirmed that he was one of the passengers on the sailboat and assured that he was accompanied by a woman. Still according to the castaway, both capsized around 7 p.m. on Thursday, before drifting until reaching the islet of Bagen Hir around 3 a.m. on Friday morning.
With no radio and no help arriving, the 30-year-old woman decided to return to the water to try to swim to shore to call for help. It was in the middle of her crossing that she was finally rescued by a fire boat.
Safe and sound, the two castaways were nevertheless hospitalized in the emergency room of the Vannes hospital shortly before 10 a.m., almost 11 hours after capsizing.