A MAN thrown overboard during a yacht race was saved by his lifejacket and dry suit, organisers said.

As reported by the Daily Echo, Andrew Taylor was washed off the Derry-Londonderry-Doire boat in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race and was dramatically rescued by teammates.

Mr Taylor, 46, was missing for almost two hours and is now being treated for shock and possible hypothermia on the boat by a fellow crew member who is a paramedic.

The yacht was about halfway on the 5,600-mile leg across the Pacific from Qingdao to San Francisco when the accident happened.

Race director Justin Taylor said: “In these conditions a man overboard is swept away from the boat very quickly and visual contact can be lost in the swell.

“We have a well-rehearsed procedure to mark the position, stop racing and engaged the engine to search for and recover the crew member as quickly as possible.

“An hour-and-a-half is a very long time to be in the water in these conditions.

“But a combination of his sea survival training and seven months at sea, as well as wearing a life jacket and dry suit, will have contributed enormously to his survival.”

Gosport based Clipper Ventures said Mr Taylor went into the water at 12.43am UK time on Monday but was not seen again until 1.55am, and taken from the ocean by his team-mates at 2.13am.

  • How the Echo broke the story - click here.