A British sailor was rescued after spending four days in a liferaft off the coast of Spain after his wife alerted coastguards in England.

Jay Patel and his Belgian colleague took to the inflatable liferaft after their 44ft (13.4m) motorboat, Umbalika, was sunk by a wave 20ft high before they could make a mayday call.

The two survived on bottled water and dried biscuits until the sailor’s concerned wife, in London, called the coastguard.

After his rescue Mr Patel told Spanish coastguards: “It was terrifying. We were hit by a giant wave and sank in two minutes. We didn’t even have time to put in a rescue call over the radio.

“We are just so grateful to the people who saved our lives and want to thank everyone involved in the search.”

A massive search operation involving ships, helicopters and aircraft finally spotted the men four miles from the island of Sa Dragonera, off the west coast of Majorca. Mr Patel’s colleague, identified only as Philippe, also lives in London.

A Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) spokeswoman said yesterday that the men were travelling from Palma, Majorca, to Tarragona in mainland Spain when their boat was hit by the wave and promptly sank.

Coastguards had no idea that the two sailors were in distress until Mr Patel’s wife dialled 999 on November 13.

The call was picked up by Thames coastguard, which alerted the International Coastguard Liaison Station at Falmouth, Cornwall. Coastguards in Madrid were told of the call and launched an air-sea search. The men were picked up two days later on November 15. Both were taken to hospital suffering from hypothermia.

“No one was aware of the problem until the sailor’s wife dialled 999,” the MCA spokeswoman said.

“The two men were experienced sailors and the woman provided a lot of information about them, their boat and their plans.

“The men had taken to a liferaft. They were eventually rescued after four days and three nights in the liferaft and after an air-sea search covering 20,000 sq km.”

The spokeswoman said that the two sailors were well, adding: “One of the lessons is that if you have any concerns about anyone anywhere at sea then tell the authorities and something can be done, no matter where you are.” Miguel Chicón, director of the Maritime Rescue Centre in Palma, told Spanish reporters: “It’s a miracle they have been found.

“The last contact anyone had with them was on the Wednesday night when they spoke to their relatives to say they had hit high seas and the boat was rolling and pitching. That was the last anyone heard of them.

“On the Friday we began to think the boat must have capsized and began searching for debris or a liferaft.

“I called the captain’s wife with the news that he was OK. She was overcome – she could not speak.”

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