Lifeboat aids yacht stranded on shingle bank
Cowes RNLI lifeboat ensured it was second time lucky for five people aboard a yacht that had gone hard aground near a busy shipping lane late yesterday evening.
When the 40 foot Kokomo had been halted by the shingle of the Bramble Bank first to attempt a rescue was a police launch. But when the launch could not get close enough because of the shallow water the lifeboat was then tasked by UK Coastguards to cross the Solent.
The yacht, by this time stuck on the bank for two frustrating hours, was eventually re-floated; the crew were able to winch their boat off with a rope attached to the anchor which had had been deployed in deeper water by the lifeboat.
The lifeboat, which had been launched at 9.25 pm, returned to station about an hour later.
Shortly afterwards the lifeboat was tasked again, this time in response to a report of two people falling out of a boat in the River Medina, at Newport. But the lifeboat had only reached the floating bridge before it was told the emergency was over and it could return to station.
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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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