Yachtsman in distress off the coast near Seymour

At 10:20 PM this evening, Wednesday 27th April 2022 Tasmania Police received a call from AMSA indicating that a distress beacon had been activated from a vessel off the coast near Seymour.

A search commenced with the assistance of Tasmania Police and Marine Rescue Volunteers from St Helens. The man’s position was determined to be north of Seymour some 500m off the coast. Sea and weather conditions prevented several attempts to get to the 67-year-old man from Lefroy. Aircraft could not search in the area because of poor weather and low cloud. A nearby fishing vessel attempted to rescue the man around 1.00 am without success. A second attempt was then made by St Helens Volunteer Marine Rescue members and Tasmania Police. Around 3.00 am this morning the man was pulled from his stricken vessel sustaining injuries to his ribs in the process.

He is currently being returned to Bicheno where an ambulance will attend to his injuries.

It is understood the man got into difficulty due to the strong swell and stormy conditions being pushed towards the shoreline and unable to use his motor to push the motor sailor away from danger.