Ill sailor evacuated off yacht

At 07h43 (Sunday, 24th June) NSRI Port Alfred volunteer sea rescue duty crew were activated following a request for assistance from the Port Elizabeth 11 meter yacht MR. NOAH, 6 nautical miles off-shore of the Kowie river mouth, with 4 crewmen onboard, all from Uitenhage, one of them an NSRI Port Elizabeth trainee crewman, reporting their skipper, 69 year old David van Wyngaard, suspected to be suffering a heart attack.NSRI Port Elizabeth trainee crewman, Francis Jacobs, who happened to be sailing on board the yacht, initiated the call to his NSRI colleagues to come and assist.Our NSRI Port Alfred volunteer sea rescue duty crew launched our sea rescue craft Lotto Challenger and responded to rendezvous with the yacht 6 nautical miles off-shore, in rough seas, a 3 meter swell and 20 knot South Easterly winds, and on arrival on-scene the patient was stabilized by our NSRI medics and transferred onto our sea rescue craft and brought to our harbour in Port Alfred and he has been transported to hospital in a stable condition by Guardmed ambulance.NSRI then re-launched our sea rescue craft and delivered 100 liters of diesel to the yacht so that they have sufficient fuel and we have instructed them to head to the lee of Bird Island to escape the rough sea conditions. They are making slow progress of 2 knots and are expected to shelter at Bird Island to wait out the unfavorable weather and may only reach Port Elizabeth tomorrow night (Monday night).They were on a roundabout sailing trip from Port Elizabeth. Two of the remaining 3 crew onboard are competent skippers.