Yachtsman plugs hole in boat with finger to stop them from sinking

A yachtsman plugged a hole in his sinking boat with his finger - while using his other hand to radio for help.

Stuart Wallace, 56, stuck his right index finger in the one-inch gap left when a sea-cock valve shattered and his 28ft craft began taking on water.

But with the hand fully occupied, he couldn't steer the Quantum Meruit and could only reach his radio with his left to send a distress call to coastguards from the River Exe in Devon.



Barrister Stuart, of Teignmouth, said: "I felt like the Dutch boy at the dyke. Then an RNLI crew arrived after an hour to seal the hole - and thankfully the only damage was a swollen finger.

"It might not sound big but any hole in a hull will take on a huge amount of water and the boat could have been swamped in minutes. So I had no choice but to stick my finger in and work out what the hell to do next. Luckily I could just about reach my radio to explain my predicament to the coastguard and say I really didn't want to spend the rest of my life there."

The Quantum Meruit is now being repaired. But Exmouth-based lifeboat coxswain Steve Hockings-Thompson said: "The sea cock wheel had sheared off and without his quick thinking, the boat would have sunk within an hour from the inch-diameter hole - though I must admit using his finger to stem the flow of water was a bit unusual."