A sailor travelling from Ireland to Fishguard was airlifted to hospital last night after a smart device detected a medical emergency.

Fishguard All Weather Lifeboat, an Irish Coastguard helicopter and the Stena ferry were all involved in the rescue of the sailor who was on a 40ft yacht approximately 28 miles out from Fishguard into the Irish Sea.

Fishguard RNLI Lifeboat’s volunteer crew were paged at 8.32pm following a request from HM Coastguard to launch the charity’s Trent class all weather lifeboat Blue Peter VII.

Coastguards said that a device worn on the sailor had detected a medical irregularity and had notified a contact centre, which then informed HM Coastguard. The only other information known was that the vessel was making the journey from Ireland to Fishguard.

Due to the location of the vessel and limited communication methods on-board, HM Coastguard were unable to establish contact with the crew of the yacht.

As part of the rescue operation, the Stena Nordica ferry diverted its Rosslare to Fishguard service to the last known location of the yacht.

The crew of Stena Nordica located the yacht and stood by the vessel until further assistance arrived. The ferry also assisted in relaying information from the yacht to coastguards in Milford Haven.

An Irish Coastguard helicopter from Waterford was requested to attend and made way to the casualty vessel.

As the volunteer crew from Fishguard Lifeboat arrived the helicopter was already on scene and had liaised with crew aboard the yacht in order to transfer the helicopter paramedic via winch onto the yacht.

With helicopter and lifeboat on scene the Stena Nordica was released with thanks to continue its journey to Fishguard.

The lifeboat stood by with crew prepared to transfer to the yacht to assist its crew and the paramedic should they need additional help to winch the casualty safely into the helicopter.

Confirmation was received that no assistance was required. The casualty was winched on-board the helicopter while the lifeboat continued to stand by.

The sailor was then flown to a hospital in Ireland to receive further medical.

Following their departure the lifeboat made contact with the remaining crew of then yacht to determine their intentions and whether they were able to continue their journey. With no further assistance required the crew of the yacht continued their journey and lifeboat returned to station.

'It was an interesting shout for crew demonstrating how useful technology can be, had the casualty been a lone sailor this may have been the only alert received,” said Fishguard’s volunteer lifeboat press officer, Cedwyn Rogers.

“We attended with a crew trained in casualty care and crew member who is also a GP should we have been required to provide medical assistance.

“As it transpired the helicopter was able to extract the casualty without any assistance, however, we were prepared to transfer crew if necessary.

“We would like to take the opportunity to wish the casualty a speedy recovery and remind anyone using the water to ensure they have the correct communication equipment to suit their activity and journey, and this should be kept within reach at all times.

“If you or another are experiencing a medical emergency at sea please call 999 or 112 and ask for Coastguard, alternatively use a VHF set if available.”