YACHT ‘BLADDER WRAPPED’ DURING NAB TOWER RACE LEADS TO BEMBRIDGE LIFEBOAT LAUNCH

A yacht with its spinnaker wrapped around the mast led to the launch of Bembridge RNLI’s All Weather Lifeboat at lunchtime today (Saturday). Solent Coastguard requested the launch of the Tamar-class lifeboat at 11:56 to assist a 32ft racing yacht – with 8 crew on board. The yacht, participating in a race around the Nab Tower, had become ‘bladder wrapped’ – its spinnaker had become wrapped around the mast – the northeast of the Lifeboat Station. Bembridge National Coastwatch Station established eyes on the casualty vessel prior to the lifeboat’s arrival. Neither assistance onboard nor a tow were required in the end, but to be on the safe side – especially as it turned out that 1 of the crew had suffered a head injury – it was decided to escort her to Gosport Marina. South Central Ambulance Service were on hand in Gosport to treat the injured crew member. The ‘Alfred Albert Williams’ lifeboat duly stood down and returned to Bembridge by 15:30. Around the same time, Bembridge’s Inshore Lifeboat was tasked to launch from Lane End in response to a man overboard alert from another yacht taking part in the race. However, the launch was cancelled after the person was confirmed to have self-recovered.