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Eastbourne Lifeboat called to stranded yacht

Lifeboats News Release

A 30ft yacht with two persons on board ran aground in Norman’s Bay on Sat. Afternoon (8 April) and had to call upon the volunteer crew of Eastbourne lifeboat for assistance.

Y boat attempts to get close to aground yacht

RNLI/Bob Jeffery

Y Boat from Eastbourne RNLI's Tamar launched to assist
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The yacht was close inshore on a falling tide and went aground on a sand bar in Norman’s bay. Unable to use their VHF radio the crew phoned Sovereign Harbour for assistance; the duty lock-keeper passed the information on to HM Coastguard. Eastbourne all-weather lifeboat (ALB) was requested to launch and was on scene shortly thereafter. The lifeboat’s ‘Y boat’ was launched (a two man rib stored under the deck of the ALB see attached photo) and went to the aground vessel to assess the situation. With no apparent damage and no ingress of water it was decided the best course of action was to wait for the tide to flood so that the yacht would refloat itself. One of the yacht’s crew was taken aboard the ALB and the skipper stayed with his vessel for the long wait for the tide. After 3 hours the vessel was refloated and escorted back into Sovereign Harbour by the ALB

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.

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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.

About the author

Bob Jeffery Volunteer Press Officer Eastbourne Lifeboats

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