Saved, the drunken sailors who washed up on tiny UK island

FOR three sailors, it was just supposed to be a night out at the pub in a British coastal town to celebrate after enduring a rough crossing from Germany.

But the boozy evening for the seamen – a Russian, a Dutchman and a Filipino – ended in being rescued after their inflatable life raft washed up on an island in the Bristol Channel.

The sailors, who are in their 20s and 30s, had docked off Minehead, Somerset, and, after managing to battle Storm Gareth on their journey from Hamburg, had decided to sail into town to celebrate.

But due to the tide, they veered off course and ended up in the resort of Barry, South Wales – 15 miles across the channel.

Then, in the early hours of the morning, they got back on board their 13ft boat and tried to return to their ship. But seven miles later, they were left stranded on Flat Holm island where they arrived at a cabin where nature warden Mat Brown is based. They apologised, telling him: ‘Sorry we are lost.’

Mr Brown, 29, said: ‘They landed at the Knap in Barry on a shingle beach where they had to jump out of the boat and into the water. By now, it was already late and they were wet up to their middles, so they decided to find a hotel.

‘They eventually found somewhere that would take them. But, at 2.45am, they had a knock on the door from police saying their boat was about to float away, so they went out again to get back in the boat which did not have much fuel.

‘It was dark and foggy but they eventually found a buoy and tied themselves to that before setting off again and landing on Flat Holm – they were wet and cold. They were very lucky we were here. We are only on the island three weeks out of four and, on that fourth week, it is uninhabited.

‘I asked the men if they would be in trouble with the captain when they got back and one very sheepishly told me: “I am the captain.”’

The men, who are crew members on the cargo ship Alana Evita which was sailing to Avonmouth, had arrived on the island around 8am. They were described as being ‘very cold’ and so a helicopter was sent out to get them.

The trio were taken to Barry to be checked over to see if they needed medical treatment.

After being taken to Barry Dock lifeboat station, the rescued sailors said: ‘We are safe and we just want to thank the friendly people here.’

Andy Berry, from nearby Penarth RNLI, said: ‘It was foggy and, at some stage, they realised they could not find their boat and realised it wasn’t wise to continue. So they moored up on Flat Holm and the rescue was initiated.

‘All three were very cold and one was incredibly cold so the Coastguard rescue helicopter landed on Flat Holm to carry out checks.’

The three men were extremely lucky to find help, however. The island, which lies between Weston-super-Mare in Somerset and Barry, has a pub and a lighthouse. However, the pub – the Gull and Leek – is only open in the summer at the weekend.