A British-Thai couple adrift at sea were rescued after their yacht hit a rock and sunk en route to Koh Samet.
The First Naval Area Command found British national Raymond Luggman, 75, and his wife Ubolrat Nikornpol, 49, in a rubber life boat just after midnight March 4 about three nautical miles off Koh Era. The Rescue crew provided first aid, food and water before taking the pair to Queen Sirikit Naval Medical Center in Sattahip for evaluation.
Ubolrat told the sailors she and her husband had set sail from Ocean Marina Yacht Club in Pattaya around 10 that morning for a trip to Koh Samet.
The Royal Thai Navy located the stricken couple in their life raft and prepares to bring them aboard.
But her captain husband was unfamiliar with the route and they encountered rough seas. They went off course and hit a rock below the surface. The boat began slowly taking on water.
Around 10 p.m., the couple realized they would need to abandon ship so they radioed the navy their position and escaped into the life boat. The yacht eventually sank to the bottom.
