French sailor, 73, survives wild night at sea as storm leaves thousands of homes in the dark The French yachtsman who was found on a beach at Alkimos after his boat was caught up in last night's wild storm. Tuesday was a wet and windy day in Perth and the South West. THOUSANDS of homes remain without power this morning after a wet and wild night in Perth and the South West of the state. Western Power says 6000 households remain without electricity at 8:30 morning. The south-west town of Pemberton is among the worst affected areas, along with the Perth suburbs of Nollamara and Hamilton Hill. The SES received more than 60 calls for help from across the metro area, including a collapsed wall in Como and fallen trees in Wanneroo and Thornlie. Was your home or street damaged in the storm? Send your photos to readerpics@perthnow.com.au Last night, wind gusts reached up to 109km/h on Rottnest and 111km/h at Cape Naturaliste in the South West. There were heavy downpours throughout much of yesterday afternoon. Winds of 89km/h were recorded at Swanbourne at 4pm and 96km/h at Bickley in Perth's hills at 2pm. Elderly yachtsman caught in storm Details have emerged this morning of a 73-year-old French man who miraculously survived a horrendous ordeal at sea after his yacht ran aground off Alkimos, 42km north of Perth, last night. The elderly man's 11.6m yacht experienced engine trouble about 6.45pm and he had also lost his sail, as winds whipped at nearly 100 km/h.. He made a mayday call and activated his EPIRB and water police and marine rescue volunteers were sent to look for him in wild conditions. Language difficulties meant the information wasn't clear, but crews were made aware that his yacht was taking on water. Serious concerns were held when no further responses were received on radio. About 10.50pm the man was found alive on a beach track at Alkimos, clutching his life jacket. Whitfords Volunteer Sea Rescue Group squad leader Peter Huggins said the man also had his dog on board when he ran into trouble. The dog was also wearing a life jacket but has yet to be found. The yacht is also still missing. "The wind was south-west, so he was always going to get blown into shore, I just think he's quite lucky he didn't get smashed to pieces as he drifted into the reef," Mr Huggins said. But considering his ordeal, he was in very good condition when we found him. I think he was particularly lucky to get ashore in one piece, given the conditions. I suspect he stayed with the boat til the last (minute). Mr Huggins said the elderly man struggled to speak English but indicated he had been trying to sail from Mangles Bay to Carnarvon. Mr Huggins said one of the Volunteer Sea Rescue Group members actually found the man walking along a sand track, connected to Pipidinny Road. One of our guys was driving down there in his 4WD and this bloke was tramping along with his life jacket under his arm," he said. He had lost a bit of skin off his forehead but apart from looking a bit salty and having a tear in his jeans, he was looking ok. He was taken to hospital for a check-up by an ambulance. Looking ahead While Perth is in for a chilly Wednesday, the forecast for today is for calmer conditions, with a few showers and possible hail in the west and a maximum temperature of 15 degrees. Residents living near or between Southern Cross, Katanning, Bridgetown, Albany, Esperance, Kalgoorlie and Eucla have been warned to expect further dangerous weather. As at 4.30am the Bureau of Meteorology said that a deep low pressure system south of the state will move steadily eastwards along the south coast over the next 24 hours. Squally conditions are expected over southern districts as the low pressure system moves eastwards. Squalls may cause dangerous winds in excess of 125km/h that could cause significant damage or destruction to homes or property in localised areas. For the latest weather information visit www.bom.gov.au or call 1300 659 213.