Clueless crook tried to flee cops by sailing stolen yacht to Norway in force nine gale... and had to be rescued

A CLUELESS crook tried to flee cops by sailing a stolen yacht to Norway in a force nine gale.
Rookie seaman Cathal Matthew, 29, had to be rescued 40 miles out from Portknockie, Banffshire, before he was nicked after the farcical getaway bid.

Captain clueless... Matthew was nicked after sailing his stolen boat into a storm

Boat owner Euan Paterson said: “He must be an absolute nutcase.” Dozy Cathal Matthew almost died when he sailed a stolen boat into a storm on his maiden voyage. Matthew, 29, took to the North Sea in the Tradewind as he tried to flee cops  on a day when hardened trawler skippers kept their vessels in port as conditions were so dangerous.

Yacht belonging to Euan was stolen from small harbour

As the vessel was battered by 50mph winds and giant waves, clueless Matthew, 29, fluked his passage offshore in the 24ft vessel before the mast snapped off, leaving him adrift in an oil field 40 miles from land.
 
He was plucked to safety by rig supply ship crew just minutes before the stricken yacht was swept away by the storm and wrecked. Yesterday the stolen boat’s owner Euan Paterson, 41, said: “I have got no idea how he survived he was very lucky to make it.

Crew of oil rig supply vessel rescued criminal moments before boat sank

 “The seas were so rough that experienced fishermen refused to take their boats out that weekend.
“I’ve got no idea how he did so well and managed to get so far. “It’s pretty impressive. I just wish he’d never found my boat.”

Thief ignored a ban from road to drive north in the Audi he swiped

Matthew nicked The Tradewind from Portknockie harbour in Banffshire after driving there in a silver Audi which he swiped from Inverurie despite being banned from the road. He got the £6,000 yacht moving, managed to open the sails and made it out to the oil field.


When he couldn’t make it any further he didn’t bother with an SOS call and just wrapped himself in lifejackets to stay warm. The captain of the rig supply ship Vos Master, which was posted in the area, noticed he was having problems but it is claimed Matthew refused help because he still reckoned he could sail to freedom.

The crook went on battling for hours to start the Tradewind’s motor in the hope of continuing his madcap getaway. Only when the storm worsened did he admit defeat and agree to abandon ship.
Euan said: “They told me he didn’t want to be rescued.

 He had got the motor working and they chased him for about three hours before he finally gave in.
“About 15 minutes after he came off the yacht it was swept away because they couldn’t hold it any longer in the storm.”

Boatyard welder Euan told of his shock when the coastguard rang to tell him The Tradewind had been stolen and was bobbing about in the North Sea He said: “There was a fair bit of drama. I couldn’t believe what had happened. Who in their right mind steals a boat?

“When my wife reported it to the police they didn’t believe her. It’s just something you don’t hear of.”

Euan immediately tried to get out to the yacht. But he said: “No one would take me — and these are guys who have been at sea for years. It was far too rough and they wouldn’t risk it.

“My boat was wrecked within the next day or so.” Meanwhile onboard the Vos Master Matthew was telling his rescuers he was sailing from Portknockie, to Bergen, Norway. He claimed he was delivering the boat for a pal.

But it’s a treacherous two-day, 378 mile voyage that even the most experienced sailors would refuse to attempt in such conditions. The crew realised his story was fishy when he couldn’t tell them the name of the yacht he was in charge of.

He was put under “boat arrest” in a locked cabin with two workers standing guard at all times.
But the following morning he owned up and confessed he was trying to make a break for it on a stolen boat.

He spent two days on the Vos Master which couldn’t leave the area because of its rig duties before another boat arrived to take him to Fraserburgh where detectives were waiting to meet him.

At Elgin Sheriff Court yesterday Matthew admitted stealing the yacht and a car and driving without a licence and insurance last November. He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced next month. Matthew was locked up for five months in relation to a separate case in Aberdeen last December  and is still to finish a community service sentence dating back to 2014.

In 2004 he did a runner to Europe after he stole £4,000 from the chip shop where he worked in Banchory, Aberdeenshire. He used a hook from the deep fat fryer to fish out bags of cash.

He came home after a fortnight and handed himself in to cops. He was ordered to pay £4,355 compensation and fined £400.
Euan bought The Tradewind four years ago so he could teach kids Karly, five, Aimee, 15, and Connor, 12, how to sail. His insurance firm is refusing to pay up for the wrecked vessel so he’s chasing compensation from Matthew and was in court yesterday for the short hearing.

Euan said: “I’m gutted. There’s no way we’ll be able to afford another boat.”

A spokesman for Vroon Offshore, owners of the Vos Master, said: “When they identified the stricken yacht the crew did their utmost to help the individual and ensure his safety. “Once recovered to the safety of the Vos Master he was later landed ashore in Fraserburgh once conditions and weather permitted.”