An Aberdeenshire sailor was back in the comfort of his home yesterday after being forced to brave North Sea waters when his dinghy capsized.
Avionics engineer John Tubey, 66, had been enjoying a day’s sailing off the coast of Collieston on Wednesday morning when a strong gust of wind capsized his dinghy and knocked him into the sea.
Mr Tubey – who learned to sail during his 12 year stint in the Royal Navy – was released from hospital on Wednesday evening following the drama.
He was left with large bruises and huge scars along his arms and legs by the incident, caused by being thrashed against coastal rocks.
Paramedics had initially feared he may have suffered hypothermia having been in the sea for so long.
Yesterday at his Collieston home, Mr Tubey recalled the morning’s events: “I thought I was about one mile offshore when the boat overturned, what happened was I was hit by a squall.
“I got the boat upright at one point but because the boat was so full of water it went over and toppled upside down.”
After a while he was left “with the boat totally upside down and no way of getting the drop keel back up again”.
He added: “So I waited for the boat to drift close to the shore. I felt I was losing my strength because of the water temperature, and I decided to swim for the shore.
“I optioned not to inflate my life jacket. I thought if I inflated it, it would inhibit my swimming in the water.”
The incident triggering an emergency response at around 10.30am after Mr Tubey was spotted in the water by an observing local.
The father of two added: “When I got to the rocks, the rocks were covered in slime and were virtually impossible to climb, and I was being buffeted up against the rocks by the waves.
“As luck would have it a large wave came along and washed me to the top of the rocks. I was exhausted and extremely cold and disorientated. It was then that a couple of guys came down the cliff to help me.”
The Peterhead lifeboat and a Cruden Bay coastguard team were among those sent out to Collieston along with police and ambulance crews.
On arrival the lifeboat crew used their vessel’s daughter boat to transport Mr Tubey to an ambulance at Collieston harbour.
His dinghy was then recovered by the boat and brought back to the shore.
Mr Tubey – who has been sailing for 51 years – added: “I would like to say thank you to everyone, to the ambulance crew and the coastguard and lifeboat men, and thank them for recovering the boat as well, and the police as well.”
His wife, Liz Tubey, said: “We’ve got him back and that’s what counts.”