Bembridge RNLI were tasked to assist a vessel which had run aground near the entrance to Bembridge Harbour earlier today (Sunday).
The All-Weather Lifeboat was launched at around 11:40 at the request of UK (Solent) Coastguard to assist a 40 foot yacht with 3 crew onboard that had run aground close to the inner entrance to Bembridge Harbour whilst departing back to her home port and was being blown onto the lee shore of St Helens Duver.
In the event, it transpired that about half an hour earlier the Bembridge Sailing Club boatman had spotted the yacht and towed her back into the deeper channel.
Having checked that the yacht had subsequently made a safe exit of the rest of the Channel, the Frank and Anne Wilkinson returned to the Boathouse and was recovered by 12:30.
A Bembridge RNLI spokesperson has said:
“Conditions were distinctly lumpy the shore crew did an amazing job today.”
Omg, you guys do an amazing job all the time. Shame these stupid idiots DO NOT listen to the weather forecasts? If they had to pay for the service you amazing guys provide maybe, just maybe they wouldn’t put your lives at risk???
I don’t think the weather was a primary reason for the grounding but I could be wrong. The channel is very narrow and is not straight so needs a lot of knowledge of where the deep water is immediately as one gets just outside the harbour. The normal convention of keeping to the right side of channels (= passing another vessel to port ) could easily put one aground on the sand platoe on the north side of the channel.
Like so many comments made about other items, it is easy to make assumptions without knowing the FULL facts.