Late night call out for Eastbourne RNLI to broken down yacht
Eastbourne RNLI’s volunteer crew were paged at 10.10pm on Wednesday 7 September and requested to launch the Tamar Class All Weather Lifeboat ‘Diamond Jubilee’ to assist a 9m Yacht that had broken down in the shipping lanes and was being towed by another vessel.
The crew made their way to the scene and found the 9m yacht with one person on board being towed by a 23 yacht and making slow progress towards Eastbourne from Kent.
The casualty vessel was unable to steer and the weather conditions were poor with bands of rain and winds passing throughout the night alongside flashes of lightning. It would also have proven difficult for the 23m yacht to enter Sovereign Harbour at Eastbourne while towing the broken down yacht.
After carrying out a full assessment of the situation it was decided that the safest course of action was for the lifeboat to take over the tow.
The Diamond Jubilee returned to Sovereign harbour just after midnight with the casualty vessel before getting the lifeboat ready for launch again if needed.
Eastbourne RNLI Coxswain Mark Robinson said: 'It was not a good night to be broken down in the shipping lanes and the crews on the yachts did exactly the right thing in calling for help. Rescues like this are only made possible thanks to donations from the public who enable us to continue saving lives at sea'.
Media Contacts:
Daniel Baldock, Eastbourne RNLI Lifeboat Press Officer (07895) 369688 [email protected]
Paul Dunt, RNLI Regional Media Officer London London and South East (07785) 296252 [email protected]
RNLI online: For more information on the RNLI please visit http://www.rnli.org/. News releases and other media resources, including RSS feeds, downloadable photos and video, are available at the RNLI News Centre.
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.