Entente cordiale came by way of a tow rope in the Solent yesterday (Saturday) when Cowes lifeboat came to the rescue of a grounded French yacht.
The 29ft Gavot II, with a couple and their two children aboard, had come to an abrupt halt on shingle and mud just west of the entrance of Newtown Estuary.
Responding to a Solent Coastguard’s request, Cowes lifeboat was launched at 18:20 and on arrival on the scene found the yacht leaning at an acute angle.
Lifeboat helm Neil Archer put Tony Harris aboard with a tow-rope, and through some judicious manoeuvring by the lifeboat the yacht was eventually refloated. It was then free to return to its port of Lymington.
