Jane and Alan Kelvey found themselves at the center of an international incident after their yacht had a close encounter with a Russian warship in the English Channel. The couple firmly deny any fault despite Russian claims and online criticism.
The Kelveys were only a few hours into their two-month sailing trip when the Russian frigate Admiral Grigorovich fired warning shots nearby. Since then, they have continued their journey, reflecting on the event amid ongoing media attention.
They found themselves at the centre of an international incident, the close encounter between their small sailing boat and a Russian warship making headlines around the world.
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A month later, Jane and Alan Kelvey are to be found berthed in a rainy harbour in north-west France, still taken aback by their brush with Vladimir Putin’s forces – but trying to get on with their fun sailing trip.
“I was surprised about the amount of interest, to be honest,” Jane told the Guardian. “That was a real shock. But we’re fine, really. Nothing terrible happened.”
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The Kelveys bristle at the idea, put out by Russia and “armchair sailors” who have “trolled them”, that they did something wrong. “We weren’t at fault,” Jane said.
Happily, there have been no fresh encounters with ships from hostile nations; poor weather rather than battleships firing warning shots have been their main challenge since. “We’ve just been sailing around,” said Jane. “We’re out here for another few weeks. It’s pouring with rain. Throwing it down, thunder and lightning.”
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Jane, 69, and Alan, 71, who retired from the successful signage business they had built from scratch, were a few hours into a two-month sailing trip on their 12-metre (40ft) boat Bright Future when they became embroiled in the international incident.
They were about halfway across the Channel when a much larger vessel loomed ahead. “Because we berth her [Bright Future] in Portsmouth, we see warships all the time,” said Jane. “When we were approaching, and when we realised it was a warship, we just assumed it was French or British.
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“We never in a million years thought it would be a Russian warship. It wasn’t until we got much closer that we realised it was Russian. You don’t expect to find them in the English Channel.”
The ship was the Admiral Grigorovich, a 125-metre (409ft) Russian frigate. The warship sounded its horn then fired warning shots with what Jane described as “whip-crack” sounds.
She took cover while Alan steered Bright Future away from the Admiral Grigorovich. They weren’t really frightened. “It was obviously a surprise,” Jane said.
During long hours of sailing since, they have replayed what happened and studied the different versions that have been put forward.
Moscow claimed the yacht had been heading towards the frigate on a “dangerous course”, which the Kelveys say is wrong. Keir Starmer said the Russian vessel had been drifting and described the Russian actions as “reckless”.
Jane said: “I don’t think I made a big enough point about it at the time but if they were adrift, they should have been displaying day shapes [signals indicating a vessel’s operational status] and they weren’t.”
They have chatted through what happened with fellow sailors. “From what I’ve heard, they didn’t have their engines on – they’re trying to save fuel. We refuel at sea, but they’re not very good at that, apparently.”
Asked what she thought about the Russians, Jane said: “Not a lot, really. I mean, they obviously did the wrong thing.”
A UK government defence minster phoned the couple to check they were all right. “We haven’t had any more contact from the MoD [Ministry of Defence],” Jane said.
They read with interest the UK government’s announcement that an extra £15bn was being invested to fund “key equipment and technology” for armed forces. “We’re quite happy about that,” Jane said. “I don’t think that was us, to be fair. But, you know, it may have helped.”
Jane said she almost had a heart attack two days after the encounter when she remembered that in recent years they have flown a Ukrainian flag on Bright Future. “Ever since 2022, I’ve flown a Ukraine courtesy flag on our yacht,” Jane said. “I didn’t put it up this year.”
They told a fellow sailor who was ex-military about this. “This guy covered his face and said: “Oh, my God, that could have been a different outcome.”
The pair have been upset by the criticism from some people who believe they were in the wrong. Jane said: “I must say, we got trolled a bit, but then that’s probably by armchair sailors who don’t really know what it’s like when you’re out there. They weren’t there and they didn’t see what we saw.”
Alan played down the whole episode. “That was last month. We moved forward and we’re enjoying ourselves. I didn’t think they were trying to sink us. I just wanted to get out of the way a bit quick, that’s all.”
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