News | Video: Miraculous rescue of Marseille captain after 16 hours under his sailboat

A night stuck in the open sea under his overturned boat: Marseille captain Laurent Cambrubi, thanks to a 30-centimeter air pocket, was rescued in the extremism off the coast of northern Spain after spending 16 hours under his sailboat.

“A rescue at the border of the impossible”. That’s how the “Salvamento Maritimo” (Spanish Sea Rescue Service) described on Facebook on Tuesday the 62-year-old navigator whose boat capsized in the Atlantic the previous day in the middle of a qualifying race. For Route to Rum 2022.

According to “Salvamento Maritimo”, Laurent Cambrubi was 14 miles (22 kilometers) from the small archipelago of Cicercas off Galicia (northwest of Spain) when he lit his distress beacon on Monday at 8:30 p.m.

According to information provided to AFP on Thursday by the rescue service, the search was quickly launched, which led to the discovery of his yacht, “Jean Solo Sailor”, tossed by high waves and drowned in darkness.

It was “Hinge upside down” And was “It has no trace of an inhabitant.”“Salvamento Maritimo” describes sending a ship and three helicopters to the scene, supported by a merchant ship.

One of the rescuers was dropped by helicopter on the overturned sailboat. He realized “Backstrokes”Who made him understand “Someone’s trapped inside”.

More divers joined the sailboat. have been “Screaming and Blowing” and on the shell “Emotions Run High”Two of them, Antonio Gómez and Andrés Pita, cited the ‘Salvamento Maritimo’.

According to the rescue vessel’s captain, Rodrigo Pineiro, conditions were difficult and it was necessary to work “frantically” to ensure the sailboat did not sink.

“30 centimeters of wind at speed”

After several hours of work, the divers, equipped with flashlights and in the middle of very rough seas, managed to penetrate under the hull, where they found a red boot.

“The immediate reaction was to touch it and the foot immediately moved away”Describe the rescuers who stretched a pole into the cabin, which Laurent Campruby immediately caught.

Coming out, the captain clung to the sailboat and turned to the divers, who all laughed: “thank you thank you thank you!”he exclaimed.

“I knew they were there and they were going to save me, they weren’t going to abandon me. It was just a matter of time. I had to live for myself and my family.”Laurent Cambrubi was quoted in the press release.

It was 12 noon and it was past 4 pm. “30 Centimeters in the Air”, underlines in the press release. He was later evacuated by helicopter unharmed.

In a photo published by “Salvamento Marítimo”, we see the captain, in a shirt and sandals, beaming on a pontoon. Next to him is his sailboat, still upside down, held out of the water by large yellow buoys.

Laurent Cambrubi presents himself as an enthusiast on the Route to Rum website “separate race”He has won many regattas in the Mediterranean, including the Rolex Giraglia.

Juan Ferrer, head of rescue service operations, underlined that the French sailor “He was fitted with a special suit to prevent hypothermia”.

But he also admired him “Those in the know, it allowed us to quietly await our arrival.”.