All At Sea: Lost Sailor Followed Road Map

A sailor had to be rescued after he ran out of fuel circling a small island when he thought he was sailing around the UK coast.

The man had only a road map for directions and his motor cruiser ran aground off Elmley Marshes on the Isle of Sheppey, off the Kent coast.

The Sheerness lifeboat and the Thames Coastguard went to help and found that the sailor had set off on the river Medway, from Gillingham, only a few miles away and was heading to Southampton on the south coast.

He had no navigation equipment or maritime charts. He told them he had been keeping the coast to his right.

A RNLI spokeswoman said: "He was attempting to travel around the UK from Medway to Southampton and somehow lost his bearings and ended up travelling round the Isle of Sheppey.

"He didn't have the usual maritime charts or navigation equipment."

A Thames Coastguard spokesman said the motor cruiser was towed to Queenborough and officers gave him advice on fuel usage.

It is understood the man then attempted to continue his journey to Southampton.

news.sky.com