A solo sailor rescued from his 35ft sloop in mid-Atlantic has asked Yachting Monthly to help him locate his boat. Dino Silva, 41, was on passage from his home in the Azores to Iceland when the rudder of his aluminium yacht, Lua, failed. He managed to repair it five times before it became inoperable.

Then, using a satellite phone, he called Falmouth Coastguard and asked for help. A German freighter was directed to his position, took him off and dropped him in Philadelphia, USA.

‘All my life is on that boat. I sold my house to build her. She is part of me, she’s like a child to me,’ he said.

He was on Latitude 53 when he abandoned her and believes she is now somewhere between Scotland and Iceland. Her EPIRB was taken off the boat at the Coastguard’s recommendation, but in any case it only had 48 hours’ worth of battery.

The yacht is uninsured.