Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Russian sailor filmed near-fatal Ullapool arrival two years before Lochinver yacht death tragedy

Roman Titov spent two weeks adrift in his broken vessel before he was swept into the west coast village.

Roman Titov pictured onboard his yacht wearing a red rain coat and a blue hat.
Roman Titov pictured onboard his yacht which was destroyed by a rough storm on his 2022 voyage. Image: Roman Titov/ YouTube.

A Russian sailor who died when his yacht capsized off the coast of Lochinver documented his dramatic arrival into Ullapool just two years earlier.

Roman Titov was last seen aboard the vessel as he set sail from Ullapool on December 13.

Tragically, his body was found washed up at a beach at Achmelvich yesterday.

Police say there are no suspicious circumstances.

The experienced sailor was attempting to reach Istanbul within 40 days to reunite with his wife and children.

Roman Titov and Daniel Johnson, co-owner of Johnson and Loftus Boatbuilders,
Roman Titov and Daniel Johnson, co-owner of Johnson and Loftus Boatbuilders, first met following the sailor’s dramatic arrival in Ullapool in 2022. Image: Facebook/ Sandy McCook.

Daniel Johnson, co-owner of Johnson and Loftus Boatbuilders, waved the sailor off despite numerous attempts to persuade him to call off his voyage as forecasters warned of adverse weather.

Three weeks later, rescue teams launched a major search after debris believed to be from his boat washed up at Strathan Bay.

Police divers combed the scene where the mast and rigging were recovered, but his body wasn’t located until more than two months later.

Russian sailor documented days stranded at sea in YouTube clip

Mr Titov unexpectedly arrived in Ullapool nearly two years ago.

The experienced sailor had originally set off from Norway with hopes of clocking up enough miles to join the Golden Globe race – a solo race around the world without stops or any outside assistance.

Picture of Roman Titov's boat in Ullapool Harbour in January 2022 with a broken mast.
Mr Titov nursed his boat into Ullapool Harbour after a storm near Rockall left the vessel in a state of ruin. Image: Roman Titov.
Roman Titove's boat in Ullapool Harbour back in January 2022.
His yacht was left in a state of ruin after a severe storm overturned it, forcing him overboard and shearing his mast clean off. Image: Roman Titov/ YouTube.

In January 2022, he was caught in a violent storm near Rockall in the North Atlantic Ocean, forcing him overboard and causing significant damage to his vessel.

With no communications and a broken mast, Mr Titov spent more than two weeks adrift in strange waters ahead of his arrival into the west coast village.

His terrifying ordeal appeared online in a series of YouTube videos uploaded by Mr Titov; just seven months before his tragic death.

Roman Titov's boat at the dock with Ullapool High Street pictured in the background.
Mr Titov spent more than two weeks adrift in strange waters ahead of his arrival into the west coast village. Image: Roman Titov/ YouTube.

In a video posted on May 18 last year – titled The Hardest Day – he speaks about how his boat suffered a 360-degree turn amidst the storm, causing his mast to break and 3.5 tonnes of water to pour into the vessel.

Despite suffering from the water and the cold, the sailor ploughed on.

Eight days later he uploaded a second video, capturing the moment he arrived at Ullapool Harbour.

Mr Titov also shows viewers the scale of damage caused to his boat during the storm; in particular, the loss of his mast.

In the video’s description, he described the severity of the situation, including sailing for 17 days with no communication.

Translated from Russian, he wrote: “Chapter 18, 17th day of emergency navigation. The yacht runs on diesel. Electrical equipment could not be restored; No connection.

“Because of the lack of a map, the rocks and islands “grow” at night. Entrance to the bay and access to Ullapool harbour without a card. Self-contained mooring.”

Mr Titov pictured aboard his yacht just moments after arriving in Ullapool in January 2022. Image: Roman Titov/ YouTube.
Ullpool Harbour from a distance.
The Russian Sailor set sail from Ullapool on December 13, almost two years after setting his sights on the Highland fishing village. Image: Sandy McCook/ Dc Thomson.

The videos were posted ahead of his return to Ullapool in late October, where he spent time repairing his yacht in preparation for his upcoming voyage.

Large sections of his vessel have been found scattered along the shoreline from Strathan to Stoer.

Ullapool Harbour thanked rescue teams for their diligent work in trying to locate the missing sailor.

They wrote: “Large sections of his yacht Forvard have been identified along the shores from Strathan to Stoer.

“Many thanks are due to the emergency services and local coastguard units for completing countless hours of searching the shorelines.”

They added: “His determination to proceed is to be admired but sadly it seems the relentless stormy weather in December proved too much.”

A police spokesperson said: “Around 3.30pm on Tuesday, 6 February, 2024, the body of a man was discovered at a beach at Achmelvich near Lochinver.

“Formal identification has yet to take place, however the family of a man reported missing from a yacht that left Ullapool on Wednesday, 13 December, 2023, have been informed.

“There are no apparent suspicious circumstances.”

Conversation