Men rescued after catamaran split

Holyhead lifeboat at the stricken catamaran

Three elderly yachtsmen were rescued after their catamaran broke in two, three miles off the Anglesey coast.

The men, from Lancashire, managed to get aboard the 46ft yacht's life-raft off South Stack and contacted emergency services with a hand-held radio.

They were airlifted by a Sea King helicopter from RAF Valley, to Holyhead coastguard station.

A lifeboat retrieved pieces of the yacht and towed the two halves of the vessel into Holyhead marina.

The yachtsmen were sailing from Porthdinllaen on the Llyn peninsula to Dublin but had turned and headed for Holyhead after the boat developed a problem earlier.

The Holyhead lifeboat crew secured the damaged yacht after the rescue. Enlarge Image

Ian Griffiths from RAF Valley said they were called just before 1300 BST.

Initially, the three sailors were difficult to find and they were given directions by the yacht's skipper via the radio.

Mr Griffiths said: "They were three miles west of South Stack and because the break-up of the catamaran happened so quickly, they had no time to wear their lifejackets."

He said it was raining and the clouds were low.

"It must have been a scary experience for them," Mr Griffiths added.

The coastguard said the 46ft yacht had a slight structural weakness and there had been rough, windy conditions in the Irish Sea.

But the coastguard said even though it was an older model, there was "no reason to suspect it would do what it did".

None of the men needed medical assistance.