It sounds as if the last five days have been hellish for the three crew aboard Compromise, the Nicholson 32 taking part in the ARC. Skipper Jos Brosnan and two others were taken this morning from their boat, one of the smallest in the rally, to Mirabella V, one of the largest sailing yachts in the world.

This is a really sad situation. Young Jos was planning to sail round the world in his boat, and it was his home before he was forced to abandon it today. According to Andrew Bishop at World Cruising, who has been keeping tabs on the situation since the weekend, the skipper was not taking the medication he should have been for an illness. “He got very tired and was making irrational decisions, and the crew weren’t able to make him see sense or get some rest.” Finally, on Sunday, the two others on board became so seriously concerned about the situation that they put out a Mayday.

Unfortunately, by then, Compromise was at the back of the fleet, and the nearest yacht was Mirabella V, some days behind. Falmouth MRCC asked them to divert to help, which they duly did, taking off all those on Compromise for safety’s sake. Well done to the crew of Mirabella.

This is the second great humanitarian rescue in two weeks. And, sadly, Jos Brosnan is the second skipper to have lost his precious yacht in extremely difficult and emotional circumstances.