Vision shows dramatic rescue of solo sailor in rough waters off WA coast after catamaran capsized

Incredible vision shows the moment an Austrian sailor was rescued off the coast of Australia after his 11m catamaran capsized in rough seas.

A man who was trying to sail from Indonesia to Fremantle aboard an 11m catamaran on his own has been saved in a dramatic rescue after his vessel capsized off the West Australian coast.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority co-ordinated the rescue of the Austrian national, about 110km west of Kalbarri overnight.

“The man used multiple distress alerting methods to indicate he required assistance,” AMSA said in a statement on Saturday.

The man used multiple distress alerting methods. Picture: AMSA

The man was rescued in rough waters. Picture: AMSA

AMSA’s response centre tasked the Perth-based Challenger rescue aircraft, a Pearce based RAAF rescue helicopter and diverted Marshall Islands registered bulk carrier MV Seapearl to search for the man.

Incredible footage shows the moment he was found, bobbing alone in a lifeboat in the vast, otherwise empty sea.

The man could be seen beaming and waving his hat at the search crew as they prepared to retrieve him.

“The man was found and rescued from the tender to his catamaran by MV Seapearl in very challenging weather conditions,” AMSA said.

As of Saturday, the man was still on board the Seapearl.