SPECIAL REPORT

What would you do if you came across a migrant vessel adrift at sea? It’s a scenario many sailors have discussed because, unfortunately, it’s not uncommon to find desperate migrants making treacherous crossings on overloaded, poorly constructed rafts or inflatable boats.

For Ryan Ellison this scenario became a reality when he encountered 60 migrants – and became part of a mission to rescue over 300 – at night, on his first ever solo ocean crossing.

Ellison and his partner, Sophie Darsy, have lived aboard their 2007 Beneteau Oceanis 40 Polar Seal for more than four years. The couple, who document their adventures online (ryanandsophie.com), have sailed around Europe from Scandinavia to southern Italy, cruised the Caribbean and Antilles, and made transatlantic crossings via the Azores and Cape Verde islands.

In January this year Ellison was embarking on his first