Ramsgate locate yacht heading for Goodwin Sands
Ramsgate RNLI's all weather lifeboat launched yesterday at 3.49pm following a request from the UK Coastguard to a yacht with engine and electrical failure 2.8 miles NE of Ramsgate.
At the position given there was no yacht in sight so the lifeboat crew contacted the casualty by mobile phone, the only means of communication due to the electrical failure, and got another position from them. This position would have put them ashore at nearby Pegwell Bay, south west of Ramsgate.
The lifeboat crew were then given a third position just outside the Ramsgate approach channel. Whilst heading towards this position, again with no casualty sighted, the crew spotted a yacht dangerously close to the North Sand Head on the Goodwin Sands, some 5 nautical miles east of Ramsgate.
The coxswain again contacted the casualty, which was the yacht heading towards the Sands, and instructed them to head immediately north, away from the sand bank. Given a couple more minutes on their original course, the yacht would have ended up aground.
Once clear of the Goodwin Sands, the lifeboat crew passed a line to the yacht and towed it safely to a berth within Ramsgate Harbour.
RNLI media contacts
- John Ray, Volunteer RNLI Press Officer, Ramsgate on 07759 480825 [email protected]
- Tim Ash, RNLI Public Relations Manager (London/East/South East) on 0207 6207426, 07785 296252 [email protected]
- Paul Dunt, RNLI Press Officer (London/East/South East) on 0207 6207416, 07786 668825 [email protected]
- For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789
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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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