Cowes RNLI lifeboat was involved in the rescue of one of Uffa Fox’s most famous racing keel boats– the Flying 15 – yesterday evening (Thursday), in the same week that the Island celebrates the 50th anniversary of Uffa’s death.
The yacht had taken on too much water in lively sea conditions near West Ryde Middle Buoy, prompting a call for help to Solent Coastguard.
The incident happened while the 2 people aboard were possibly getting some practice in prior to celebratory races later in the week.
First on the scene was a Cowes Harbour launch which took the crew aboard and began towing their partially submerged racing dinghy to Cowes.
Eventually, the tow was taken over by the lifeboat, which began pumping water out of the vessel before delivering the boat to Shepards Wharf Marina and its lifting crane.
The lifeboat launched just after 18:00 and returned to station at 19:53.
Old style flying fifteens did tend to sink . I remember my dad sinking his in the Lake District back in 1970 – waters in the Solent are a bit more lively than on the lakes