Yacht with engine failure towed to safety by Wells RNLI

The yacht, 'Summer Wind of Portsmouth', had been on a passage from Bridlington to the south coast and wished to stopover in Wells. 

The skipper, who was sailing her single handed, was navigating the approaches to Wells Harbour on the ebbing tide when the yacht suffered engine failure and he contacted the coastguard for assistance.

Wells inshire lifeboat crew was paged at 10.47pm and launched at 11pm, arriving on scene four minutes later.

The lifeboat crew found that the yacht had run hard aground and could not be re-floated until the morning tide. 

The crew then proceeded to lay the anchor out to secure the yacht, make it watertight and take the skipper ashore to the boathouse.

The lifeboat crew returned to the casualty on the next tide at 3.50am. Shortly after that the yacht was re-floated.  The crew attempted to repair the engine but found it would only idle and not take any load. It was decided to tow the yacht into Wells Harbour and moor her in the outer harbour.  No one was hurt in the incident.

In a statement from Wells Harbour, spokesman, Simon Blakeley, advised: 'Visiting vessels entering Wells Harbour should contact them either by phone or on VHF channel 12 prior to making an approach, especially during the hours of darkness. There is a free pilot service into the harbour. Contact details can be found in the nautical almanac, also online at the Wells Harbour website. We are here to help.'

RNLI media contacts

John Mitchell, Wells Lifeboat Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, 01328 710882 Mob: 07831 103 166
[email protected]

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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.

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