St Ives launch to 70ft yacht sinking

Robert Cocking, Coxswain launched the all weather lifeboat with crew Robin Langford, Jake Martin, Jack Coop, Jonathan Harvey, David Holland-Kemp and Mike Laity.

The volunteer crew were answering a call from Falmouth Coastguard ,who had received a relayed mayday call concerning a 70ft Yacht that was taking on water, and going down.

The coastguard also made our launch authority aware that the crew of the stricken vessel were launching a liferaft and abandoning the yacht.

Reports had the stricken vessel at 36 miles west of St Ives head. The crew got underway quickly making their way towards the location. However, prior to the crew actually reaching the exact location of the vessel, they were made aware that HM Coastguard helicopter Rescue 924 had located a liferaft 23 miles NNW off of the Isle of Scilly and rescued the crew members of the yacht. They had made their way back to Newquay.

A local beam trawler from Newlyn had also picked up the liferaft that the crew of the yacht had used once they had evacuated the vessel. The lifeboat crew checked whether there was anything they could do to assist the situation further, and at this point there wasn't.

The lifeboat crew turned around to make their way back to the station, at this point the stricken vessel was afloat. However on return to the lifeboat station, the coastguard confirmed that the vessel had sadly gone down. Thankfully no injuries and the crew were all safely accounted for.

The crew have now readied the boat once again for service.