Three Virginia men, including one each from Gloucester and Mathews, were rescued last week from the cold waters of the North Atlantic when their sailboat, “Valiant,” succumbed to rough seas several hundred miles off the southern Icelandic coast.

Wes Jones of Gloucester, the captain of the boat, and Robert Forrest of Mathews were among the three crew to be brought to safety by an Icelandic research vessel, according to Ásgrímur L. Ásgrímsson, chief of operations for the Icelandic Coast Guard, which was instrumental in coordinating the effort to bring the men ashore.

Both Jones, who was Gloucester’s director of public works for a number of years, and Forrest were due back to U.S. soil late Wednesday night, according to the third sailor, Morrie Piersol of Richmond, who returned home earlier this week.

According to Ásgrímsson, the men were rescued last Wednesday at 4:30 a.m. local time. He said an emergency signal from the vess...