A man was rescued from the sea west of Sark this week after his fishing boat sank.
Crew on board an Isle Maritime boat were first on the scene and they saved the man, before his boat was later recovered too.
The Isle Maritime crew called for help on Tuesday lunchtime after spotting the smaller boat in distress.
Director Dave Herschel said they just happened to be in the area, as an unexpected delay had seen them running late.
“Three of us were approaching Bec du Nez on the way to Creux Harbour aboard Isle Paloma, when we saw a sudden large plume of white smoke rising from the sea off Port a La Jument, between us and Brecqhou.
“We changed course towards it, speeding up a bit whilst digging out the fire extinguishers.
“As we approached, the smoke stopped and hung in the still air, then we noticed what I initially thought was a guy in a kayak just upwind. We soon realised he was on a boat that was sinking fast beneath him.”
Mr Herschel said they had already alerted the Guernsey Coastguard while trying to get as close as they could to the man in the water.
“The casualty was cold and exhausted from hauling himself back onto the capsized boat, and devastated at the loss of his boat, which at that point was still sinking lower in the water with each passing minute.
“He explained that he had been hauling a pot and the line had become snagged, and that he’d been unable to stop the winch fast enough to prevent it from pulling the boat over sideways, causing it to fill with water, submerging the engine, and then flip over, in just a few seconds.”
The St Peter Port Lifeboat reached the scene, and brought the man back to dry land so he could be checked by waiting paramedics.
The coastguard said “he received no significant injuries” but he was understandably devastated at the incident.
“As we pulled away, he said ‘My life is on that boat’, to which Sophie replied that his life was now on this boat,” said Mr Herschel.
“The casualty got in touch this afternoon on Facebook, and we had a ten-minute call. He’s shaken but otherwise OK – like us he has a baby at home.”
Guernsey Coastguard said the 5.5m fishing vessel was partially re-floated by commercial divers, before being towed back to St Peter Port where it was checked over too.
Initial attempts to lift her out of the water failed, but the vessel was eventually craned out by Guernsey Ports before being drained and relaunched.
As the boat was a commercial fishing vessel, an investigation has now been launched into the incident with the Chief Inspector of Marine Accidents working to identify the cause.
Dave Herschel said it was down to chance that his vessel was in the area at the right time to help the fisherman.
“It’s very lucky we were there when we were. Two minutes earlier or later and we wouldn’t have seen it, and the outcome could have been very different.
“We’d been planning to leave quite a while earlier but been held up. Thank goodness!”