Yarmouth RNLI was tasked to launch by Solent Coastguard early this morning (Bank Holiday Monday) following reports of a boat drifting off The Needles.
A Pan Pan was received by the Coastguard shortly before 07:20, with secondary reports from a dog walker that a yacht was drifting in The Needles channel.
As Yarmouth RNLI’s volunteer crew launched the All Weather Lifeboat (ALB), it was unclear whether both calls for help were connected.
Having conducted a swift search of the area, the ALB soon located a 40ft sailing yacht aground on the shingle bank, 2 nautical miles south west of Hurst Point. In order to get close enough to assess the situation the lifeboat’s smaller ‘Y’ boat was deployed with 2 RNLI crew members on board.
With no visible signs of damage or water ingress and none of the yacht’s crew were injured, and with the tide still ebbing and conditions calm, the decision was taken for the lifeboat to return to harbour as it would be several hours before the casualty could be refloated.
Yarmouth RNLI’s Severn-class lifeboat then relaunched at 09:20 and returned to the casualty’s position so they could stand by ready to ensure the boat would refloat safely. As the tide began to rise, it remained too shallow for the All Weather Lifeboat to manoeuvre too close to the shingle bank.
The ‘Y’ boat was launched once again with the intention of attempting to tow the bow of the casualty round. After several unsuccessful attempts, Yarmouth Lifeboat’s coxswain took the decision to call for assistance from Lymington RNLI’s inshore lifeboat.
Even though the tide was rising, the yacht was struggling to refloat and needed assistance to be pulled clear of the shingle. Lymington RNLI’s Atlantic-class lifeboat was eventually able to tow the casualty clear and the boat was re-floated at 12:20 – more than 5 hours after going aground.
Having been refloated, the yacht and her crew made the decision to continue with their planned voyage.
Yarmouth RNLI’s coxswain, Howard Lester, said:
“It is important when planning a passage to take account of the weather forecast, tides and navigational hazards”.
I hope the owner of the yacht gives a large donation to the RNLI, then mayby uodate their charts ???
So how do you manage to hit the shingles bank then? It is pretty well marked.