Amateur radio enthusiast enjoys waves of popularity on worldwide web for stricken yacht video

A North Lincolnshire amateur radio enthusiast who was surfing the air waves to Australia ended up helping a stricken sailor and his yacht which had been battered by waves of a different kind following a big storm in the Atlantic.

David Ogg, of Winteringham, was connected up to a fellow enthusiast in Melbourne, Australia when he then heard a "break station" alert off the coast of Spain, where a vessel had lost its mast and sails.

Fortunately, assistance came through amateur radio. And David, who is chairman of the Brigg and District Amateur Radio Society, recorded how things unfolded in a half-hour video.

He told the Radio Society of Great Britain: "It just goes to show in these modern times, when all else fails, there is amateur radio."

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David told thisisscunthorpe.co.uk that the video had become "quite famous" among enthusiasts all round the world.

"It's a good promotion for amateur radio as a hobby, helping in emergencies," he added.

The troubled yachtsman off the coast of Spain - also a radio amateur and thought to be an American - "came on the side of us, talking," David added.

At the time the Winteringham enthusiast was using what is known as a "long path" connection to Australia - 24,000km right round the Earth.

The yachtsman's engine was functioning at the time David spoke to him.

With the storm gone, he was aiming to make about 260 miles into the nearest port in Spain.

"He wasn't giving SOS he was sinking," said Dave. "He was asking us for help."

The yachtsman suggested he would let Dave and his Australian contact know all was well once he made land.

"We don't know if he got there safely. We've not heard from him," said David.

However, had something gone wrong, given the video's popularity on the internet, it's pretty certain someone would have pointed it out by now.

"Maybe it's slipped his mind," David suggested.