
Lymington Lifeboat crew return one man and his boat to safety
At 6.32pm on Monday 26th August HM Coastguard requested the assistance of Lymington Lifeboat voluntary crew to perform a welfare check on a small sailing yacht to the west of Beaulieu river, close to the shoreline with engine failure.
On arrival, the yacht was at anchor with no one on deck. After making contact with the sole occupant below decks, it was established that the man had bought the vessel two days earlier and was attempting a passage from Poole to Southampton with no prior knowledge of sailing.
‘To the gentleman’s credit, he had successfully maintained the boats position with the anchor and was wearing a lifejacket’ commented lifeboatman Luke.
The vessel was however without propulsion and in increasingly shallow water, with the potential to go aground on the falling tide. With this in mind, Lifeboat helm Phil Baker decided to take the vessel under tow, out of danger and in to the safest haven, which was Beaulieu.
‘It is great that sailing is accessible to all but we do recommend getting some tuition before heading out on the water for the first time’ concluded Luke.
Crew: Phil Baker (helm), Greg Pachany, Luke Kelly-Granger, Jo Styles.
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RNLI Contact details:
Jo Styles, Deputy Lifeboat Press Officer, Lymington Lifeboat Station (07725) 640871
Jo_Styles@rnli.org.uk
Hatti Mellor, Regional Communications Manager - SE & London (07724) 801305
hatti_mellor@rnli.org.uk
For enquiries outside normal business hours contact the RNLI duty press officer on (01202) 336789
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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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