Lymington RNLI Round the Island race report

This event has historically been run in sometimes quite yacht crew challenging conditions and often provides some of our most enduring camera footage of the year. This year however it was benign with the dominant high-pressure system sitting over the United Kingdom leading to calm seas and for the Solent section, drifting conditions.

Working with the Severn Class lifeboat from Yarmouth (IOW) and the Atlantic 85 from Mudeford, five calls were registered to the Lymington crew during their time afloat, with the first being to a motorboat that had broken down in the vicinity of Warden Ledge and in the middle of the RTI race fleet. This was towed off the race course to safer waters and eventually escorted into Lymington by a SeaStart vessel..

The four other calls where to yachts observed hitting the long-established wreck of the Varvassi. No damage occurred in these groundings and in all but one case the yacht concerned continued racing.

Lifeboat returned to station shortly after 1.30pm to be readied for further service.

Notice to Editors:

· The Varvassi was a Greek registered cargo ship which ran aground on the Needles in 1947. Her boilers still lie about 150m west of the lighthouse. A narrow inshore passage exists between these and Goose Rock and always provides either a navigational test or work for the waiting safety teams.

· For over 50 years, Lymington RNLI Lifeboat has provided search, rescue and lifesaving capability in the western Solent, Needles Channel and eastern sector of Christchurch Bay.

· The RNLI Lifeboat Station open days will be on: Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 August 2018 coinciding with the local food festival being held on the adjacent Bath Road Park.

RNLI Media Contacts:

• Peter Mills, Lymington RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer 07767 213583 [email protected]
• Paul Dunt, Regional Media Officer (South East) on 0207 6207426, 07785 296252 email: [email protected]

· For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789 email: [email protected]

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.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

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.