The Atlantic, went to assist a 33ft yacht with one person on-board who had experienced mechanical failure and was unable to get back to his berth,the lifeboat met up with the stricken vessel in the Swash Channel. A volunteer was transferred across on-board to check that all was well and a towline was connected. The lifeboat brought the yacht back through the entrance of the Harbour and safely to its mooring off Salterns Marina.
Meanwhile the D class had been tasked to a 10 metre Bayliner cabin cruiser that had ran aground off Studland beach, inside the Training bank. The Training bank is line of rocks that runs parallel with the beach.
The vessel had been high and dry for some time, waiting for the tide to come back, the D class arrived on scene to check that two elderly people on-board were none the worse for their escapade.
The people were okay, but the vessel at this stage was firm aground and needed assistance to get off. Conditions in the bay were fine and sunny but the easterly breeze was driving the stuck vessel further up the beach.
By now the Atlantic had joined the D class to assist, the crews waited a bit for the tide to start creeping back and then attached a tow and pulled the vessel clear successfully re-floating it in deep water.
A lifeboat crew member had been transferred onto the Bayliner and had been checked for any signs of ingress, everything seemed in order and the casualties were happy to make their own way back into Poole harbour.
Both lifeboats returned back to station, and after refuelling were ready for service 8.00pm.
Poole Lifeboat volunteer Jonathan Clark said;
‘It was really unfortunate that the vessel got caught out, it has been an extremely low tide.’
The Poole Lifeboat community safety Team had also had a busy morning at Cobbs Quay marina where they were holding a Life jacket health clinic. They checked 55 jackets, off which 2 were condemned and put in the bin with others out of date or damaged.
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.
