A GRATEFUL sailor has thanked those who saved his life after his boat capsized.

Stephen Crawford, 61, has donated £3,000 to the West Mersea RNLI and £2,000 to Colchester General Hospital after he was plucked to safety from the River Blackwater.

In February, he capsized near Osea Island and was unable to reach his distress button.

He started drifting in and out of consciousness and believes he was as little as 15 minutes away from death.

Luckily, two sailors on the shore spotted him and raised the alarm.

Since his ordeal, he has met the RNLI crew and hospital staff who rescued him and treated him for hypothermia.

Mr Crawford, a member of the Marconi Sailing Club in Steeple, hopes to be back on the water again in the coming weeks after having repaired his Bayraider 17.

He said: “I’m very grateful to them all. These people have day jobs and ordinary lives and what they do is voluntary for the RNLI.

“They put themselves at risk to save people.

“I think they are quite something.

“The RNLI and hospital staff don’t always get the gratitude that they deserve.

“When I think about what happened, it all happens in slow motion in your mind.

“I think ‘could I have done anything differently’ and I couldn’t.”

He hopes the money he has donated to the RNLI will pay for two suits for rescuers and the hospital cash will fund equipment to help people suffering hypothermia.

Mr Crawford, from Dagenham, was a master mariner who served in the merchant navy.

Since the accident, he has invested in a dry suit with a thermal suit underneath, which means he would be able to stay in the water for longer in the event of another accident.

He will now also keep his distress button round his neck.