Sailing in the Solent

The Isle of Wight is all about sailing - every little town seems to have a harbour packed full of yachts and of course the island is famous for its two annual sailing races, the Round the Island Race which takes place in June every year, and Cowes week which takes place in August.

This morning we all woke up early - or so it seemed as the clocks went back last night and we were awake at the same time yet it was an hour earlier. We had a quick sail in the bay before heading back home. This is a view of a boat sailing with Cowes in the background - there were many boats out sailing today and quite a few sailing regattas going on.

While we were out sailing we heard a mayday call on the radio, from a boat nearby. It seems someone on a sailing boat had a heart attack, and luckily the people with him were able to administer CPR until the coast guard despatched the helicopter to take him to hospital. The speed in which the coast guard responded and the helicopter arrived was impressive, and I hope the man will be ok.