Disabled motor yacht towed to safety by Margate RNLI
Disabled motor yacht towed to safety by Margate RNLI
Lifeboats News Release
Margate RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat has come to the aid of a motor yacht which encountered machinery problems in shipping lanes off the north Kent coast.
The alarm was raised early yesterday morning (Friday 19 August) when a 31ft motor yacht with one person on board contacted coastguards to say they had broken down close to the busy Princes Channel shipping lane around ten miles north west of Margate.
Margate RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat was tasked to assist and once on scene checked on the welfare of the solo yachtsman. The craft was taken under tow for the three-hour journey to Ramsgate harbour where, once inside the harbour itself the yacht had sufficient power to secure itself alongside a pontoon.
Ian Lowe, Deputy Launching Authority, Margate RNLI said: ‘This solo yachtsman made his own vital initial steps to his safe rescue by having a marine VHF radio, the ability to provide an exact location using GPS and by noting navigation marks adjacent to him. His preparation enabled a prompt rescue minimising the time he was vulnerable to passing large vessels restricted in their ability to pass him in the narrow channel to which they are confined.’
·For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
