Plymouth - A family described yesterday their three-day ordeal at sea in a storm-battered yacht. But as Mr Don and Ms Yvonne Newman and their six-year-old son Daniel reached dry land, clutching just a carrier bag of possessions, some experts said they had been "unwise" to set sail with so little knowledge of the seas.
The British navy was also left to pick up a bill likely to run to several thousand pounds for the rescue, which involved four Sea King helicopters in conditions that crews said were the worst they had ever experienced.
Mr and Ms Newman, from Cambridgeshire, had sold their house and given up jobs to pursue a dream to sail around the world in their 36ft yacht, Touchdown. They left home in July to begin the year-long voyage, although some friends and family had thought they were "crazy".
Just two months later, their dreams turned to disaster when first Ms Newman, an aromatherapist, fell severely sea sick. With his wife lying below decks trying to care for their son, Mr Newman was left for three days and two nights in the yacht's cockpit, struggling to fight off exhaustion as he steered through the Bay of Biscay.
On Tuesday night, 200 miles from the nearest land, they were plunged into a massive storm. With 30-foot waves washing over the decks and 50 m.p.h. winds battering the mast, Mr Newman radioed for help.