The two crew of a yacht competing in the World ARC rally were rescued by helicopter on Sunday after they hit a reef in the Coral Sea.

Asolare, an Amel 54, struck Moore Reef, approximately 52 nautical miles North West of Willis Island in the Coral Sea, whilst en route from Vanuatu to Australia. At 0830 Local time, skipper Peter Turner and crewman Tim Wood were winched aboard the helicopter, which after refuelling at Willis Island Meteorological Station landed the crew at Cairns.

Peter is a veteran sailor with fifty years of experience. He told the Telegraph that Asolare, launched in June 2007, had been valued at £800,000 but was now unsalvagable. ‘Nowhere is nice to smash into a reef,’ he said. ‘But if I had to choose somewhere this was as good a place as any.

‘Our charts did not show any reef in that area at all. We hit the reef really heavily. There was an amazing crash and immediately she turned over on to her side.’

Full story and pics: Sail-World.