A YACHTSMAN has described the dramatic moment he was rescued by helicopter after his boat was caught in a storm off the Canary Islands.

Keen sailor Mark Hughes, nicknamed Huggy, of Maple Road, Winwick, was attempting to sail to the Caribbean with pet dog Sheila when the vessel lost its mast and the engine failed 30 miles south of Gran Canaria.

The 41-year-old made an SOS call over his radio transmitter before being picked up by Spain’s air-sea rescue service last Monday.

He said: “They only sent down one rope but I refused to leave Sheila because she’s the love of my life. I put on my life jacket, jumped in the sea with the dog and we were both rescued from there.”

Mark, who had no injuries, was checked over and given the all clear while his yacht was towed back to shore to be repaired and sold on.

The intrepid sailor, who was a Navy engineer in Iraq during the Gulf War in 1990, ultimately hoped to get to Australia and in spite of his latest terrifying experience he remains undeterred.

Mark added: “I’m adventurous by nature and I’m determined to get to Australia. I’m planning to fly over there after coming back to England next week. Sailing is my passion so I’ll buy another boat when I get to Australia.”

Mark, who went to Culcheth High School, was working in Warrington as a welder when he made the decision four years ago to buy a boat, restore it and sail around the world.

He bought and refurbished the Jessica May, leaving Liverpool Docks three years ago to visit France, Italy, Greece and Gibraltor before settling in the Canary Islands and preparing for his venture to the other side of the world.

Mark has documented his travels on social networking site Youtube and they can be found by going to youtube.com and searching for ‘Huggy MacArthur’.

He is also one third of the way through writing a book about himself called The Accidental Sailor.