YARMOUTH AND LYMINGTON RNLI CREWS WORK TOGETHER TO AID GROUNDED YACHT

For the second time in a week, the volunteer lifeboat crews of Yarmouth RNLI and Lymington RNLI came together on a shout – this time to aid a yacht aground in the Western Solent. Yarmouth’s All Weather Severn-class Lifeboat was tasked by HM Coastguard shortly after 15:00 on Thursday (6th June) to reports of a 34ft sailing yacht which had found itself aground on the Shingles Bank, between Hurst Castle and the Needles Lighthouse. It was on passage from Portsmouth to Poole. The volunteer crew from Lymington Lifeboat arrived quickly on scene in their Atlantic 85 lifeboat, where 1 of the crew boarded the casualty vessel for initial checks for damage and casualty care. It was decided that due to the worsening sea conditions in the westerly gusts, the safest option would be to transfer the 2 persons onboard onto Lymington Lifeboat, where they would be taken back to Lymington and wait for the tide to rise before attempting recovery of the yacht. Yarmouth Lifeboat arrived on scene at 16:55 when the tide had risen enough that the casualty vessel had started to re-float, however, it was determined that where the rudder had taken significant damage, both RNLI lifeboats would attend the scene. Lymington’s inshore lifeboat was better suited in the more shallow water to get close to the vessel, and Yarmouth’s All Weather Lifeboat was better suited for towing the vessel due to its powerful twin MTU engines. Working together, the 2 crews cleared fallen lines in the water and prepared new lines to establish the main tow. Both lifeboats then escorted the vessel to Lymington Harbour where it was then reunited with its owners. After the post-recovery checks, Yarmouth RNLI was marked as ready for service at 18:55.