Bembridge RNLI’s volunteer lifeboat crew was tasked to locate a sailing yacht after a distress call was received by HM Coastguard.
A DSC Mayday alert had been received at approximately 23:00 yesterday evening (Friday), and the crew launched their inshore lifeboat and rushed to the yachts most recent position, 1 nautical mile north of Bembridge.
The RNLB Norman Harvey D-Class life oat located a 38 foot Sailing Yacht with 4 crew (2 adults and 2 children), which was thought to be aground.
Conditions were very benign so it did not take the crew long to reach the yacht and identify that she was indeed the same one that had initiated the Mayday Alert.
The vessel was hard aground and it transpired that the crew were waiting for the tide to come back in. Having assisted the yacht in switching off their VHF so as to cancel the automatic repeating of the Mayday Alert, the Norman Harvey returned to station and was recovered by midnight.
