THE four-man crew and a cat rescued from a yacht that sank off the coast of West Africa have reached Portland safe and sound.

The 45-foot Ex Africa was owned and built by British ex-pats Peter and Sue Beeson, who are now permanent residents of South Africa.

They both retired from their jobs to live on the yacht at a permanent mooring in the Royal Cape Yacht Club in Capetown.

But disaster struck on Sunday, May 15, when their vessel began taking in water and losing fuel fast after sustaining damage to its propeller and rigging.

Luckily, a British Antarctic Survey vessel the RRS James Clark Ross was alerted to the Mayday call by the Moroccan coastguard and were on the scene less than six hours later to pluck the crew and their moggy to safety unscathed.

The crew were saved just an hour before the yacht sank in the Atlantic.

Director of British Antarctic Survey, Professor Nicholas Owens, said: “I am delighted that our ship was able to rescue the four-person crew and they are now safe and well.

“It was down to the professionalism of the captain and his crew that we were able to provide assistance and rescue the yacht’s crew safely.”

Returning to Portland Port this week the rescued crew members broke down in tears seeing family waving at the dock.

Mrs Beeson, 63, originally from Oxford, described their homecoming: ‘We were standing at the rail of the ship and we saw Peter’s daughter – my step-daughter – and her husband standing on the dockside at Portland Port.

“We waved, and I broke into tears because it was so wonderful to see family.”

On arrival the cat, Fairy Fey, a 12-year-old tortoiseshell who lived on the yacht for four years, has been taken into quarantine.

She added: “We said goodbye to the amazing crew and captain of the fantastic ship that rescued us, got in the car and drove to stay with family in Norwich.

“I want to thank the captain and crew of the RRS James Clark Ross, who went far beyond what they could have been expected to do for us, not only in the rescue but once we were on the ship.

“They were wonderfully understanding and it was just the most amazing thing.”

Now the Beesons will have to start again and find a new yacht to spend their retirement on.

Mrs Beeson added: “The yacht that we and our cat were rescued from, and had been living on for the past three years, was our only home. It was our retirement home, we spent 10 years building it.

“Now it’s at the bottom of the Atlantic and we are having to start again.

“I could not bring myself to watch our dream go down to the bottom of the Atlantic, but Peter and the crew watched her sink. All of our possessions, everything we owned was on that boat.

“Our intention is, if we can scrape enough money together, to carry on with our dream to retire on a small barge and live on the canals of France. We will then be reunited with our beloved cat.”