Simon Le Bon has been reunited with a woman whose life he saved 17 years ago. The Duran Duran frontman met up with Karen McCracken, who he rescued after her yacht hit a reef off the coast of Venezuela, when his band kicked off a new tour in Belfast.
Karen would have been happy to see any friendly face when her boat got into difficulties that day. She and her family had been sailing to Belize when they got caught in a storm and found themselves having to radio for help.
Fortunately the singer, who was enjoying a pleasure cruise with his wife Yasmin on their yacht Drum, picked up the distress call and raced to the scene. Nearly two decades later the two have met once again, and Simon was clearly delighted to see his fellow sailor was still keeping well.
"We had to wade through the coral at the end to get to them," he revealed. "They were very pleased to see us – they were very pleased. I'm glad that she is alive and didn't get swallowed up by the sea – it's a scary thing."
Karen, meanwhile, confessed that she was already a big fan of the band before the incident, and could barely believe it when she realised the identity of her rescuer. "Everyone was speaking Spanish and this lovely voice said 'Drum – Simon Le Bon'. He really was very good. He kept talking to us during the night. We didn't know where we were at this stage – our satellite navigation had packed in."
Photo: © Alphapress.com
