Graham Anley: Man Saves Dog Before Wife When Yacht Goes Down

Yachtsman Graham Anley may be in the dog house for awhile. He was sailing on his yacht The Boundless with his wife and dog on Sunday when the boat had a little accident.

According to a report from the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI), the trio were sailing from East London, South Africa to the island of Madagascar.

Graham Anley himself has worked as a volunteer for NSRI for 22 years. So he started off on the right foot. Everybody had on their life vest — even Rosie the dog, who had a special doggie life jacket complete with flashing strobe light.

After the yacht struck a reef, he was equipped to phone in the accident by sending a radio Mayday and also activating a Global Positioning Distress beacon.

However, he made one tiny miscalculation.

As the yacht began to sink, it became obvious that they needed to abandon ship. So here is NSRI’s report on what Graham Anley did next:

“[H]e first swam Rosie ashore safely before returning for his wife whose safety line had snagged on the steering gear.”

You got it. He saved the dog first.

Guys, I know a dog is a man’s best friend. But there’s a limit. That dude is totally going to be sleeping on the couch for awhile.

According to Iol News, Rosie is a Jack Russell — a real cutie and brave to boot. So maybe it’s understandable.

Or maybe not so much.

Graham and Sheryl Anley told NSRI that they didn’t want to talk to the media about their rescue. There was no comment on whether Rosie had anything to say about Graham Anley’s priorities.

NSRI volunteer Graham Anley, his wife and dog are all safe. Their yacht hit a reef off the Transkei coast. See http://t.co/1dOLYTtC2l

— NSRI (@NSRI) August 4, 2013

[stormy sea photo by Studio10Artur via Shutterstock}