The skipper of a fishing boat that sank off the Manx coast has told how safety training saved his life and that of his crew mate.

On the evening of November 23 last year, the fishing vessel Polaris suffered a catastrophic hull failure 2.5 miles north west of the Calf Sound.

The Polaris sank so rapidly that skipper Gordon Mills only had time to send out a Mayday to the coastguard before the vessel became submerged.

Two RNLI lifeboats from Port St Mary and Port Erin and the rescue helicopter were launched.

But it was local fishing vessel, the Lynn Marie, which arrived first on scene. The skipper and a crew member from Polaris had been in the water for at least 15-20 minutes before help arrived.

Skipper of the Lynn Marie feared the worst as they arrived at the scene as the Polaris had already gone below the water. He stopped his engine and heard two men in the water shouting. They were located with a search light and recovered from the water.

Gordon attributed their rescue to the safety training the crew had received previously - and to their lifejackets, which were fitted with personal locator beacons.

He said: ’At no time did I feel our lives were in danger due to our training and equipment. We had a policy of wearing lifejackets on the working deck since attending refresher training.

’I can tell you that there is no doubt that the lifejackets saved our lives. We wouldn’t have even been afloat for the crew of the Lynn Marie to recover us from the water had we not been wearing them.

’I would encourage all fishermen to start wearing their lifejackets while on deck, you just never know when you might need it.’

He also urged the island’s fishing community to avail themselves of the RNLI’s safety training and to ensure that their safety equipment is up to date.

RNLI fishing safety manager Frankie Horne said: ’It was quite clear this could have been a very different story had the crew of both vessels not acted so professionally.

’The crew had attended safety training and wore lifejackets fitted with personal locater beacons which increased their chances of survival.’

For advice on RNLI fishing safety go to https://rnli.org/safety/choose-your-activity/commercial-fishing