A YACHTSMAN who was winched to safety, moments before his boat broke up on rocks, said last night: "I thought my time was up."

Stephen Elton, from Framwellgate Moor, Durham, was lifted into a helicopter just minutes before his yacht, the Joan of Ark, was destroyed at Hummersea Scar, on the North Yorkshire coast.

Mr Elton, 49, said last night: "I thought several times that I was going to die.

"I kept thinking of the Penlee lifeboat disaster and all the other deaths along the coast.

"I lost consciousness during the rescue and had wild hallucinations. When I regained consciousness, I thought it was all a dream. It was bizarre - crazy, like a kaleidoscope.

"I wouldn't wish my experience on anyone and I feel very emotional about it.

"But next season I'll be sailing again. In three years, I've had no trouble at all. Sea sickness has been my biggest problem. Strangely, it didn't affect me on Sunday night."

Mr Elton, a computer programmer, was sailing from Runswick Bay, where he had enjoyed a short holiday.

He set sail on Sunday lunch-time, hoping to reach Hartlepool in time for his mother's 70th birthday party that evening.

"The sea conditions just got worse and worse, but there was not really anywhere to go," he said.

Mr Elton was trying to untangle a sail when he realised the yacht's propeller shaft had snapped and he was heading irreversibly for shore.

"It was very windy. There was occasional rain. The visibility was okay, but the seas were getting very heavy. There were big and unpredictable waves, slamming into the boat."

Mr Elton issued a mayday emergency signal and relayed his position to the coastguard.

"I was heading for the coast on the remaining sail, doing five or six knots. It's amazing how quickly it cut up the two miles.

"I threw an anchor over the side, but it wasn't tied to the boat. I wrapped it round my hand, but it broke my finger.

"When the rescue services got there, I was on the rocks, banging into them. It was all I could do to hold on. One big hit almost knocked me out."

Mr Elton knows he owes his life to the rescue services.

"The inshore rescue, clifftop rescue and helicopter people were all unbelievably professional. I'm so grateful to them.

"Their selfless dedication is just fantastic."

After being lifted to safety, Mr Elton was taken to The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough.

He suffered three broken fingers, cuts and bruising all over his body, and is now recovering at home