Kippford RNLI assist broken down yacht
The volunteer crew at Kippford RNLI were requested to assist a yacht which has broken down near Hestan Island. The crew of the vessel had made a pan pan call requesting assistance due to engine failure.
On Saturday 19th October the lifeboat crew were paged following a pan pan call for assistance from a yacht anchored 200m south of Hestan Island. The volunteers quickly assembled and had relief lifeboat The Gentle Jekm on the water within ten minutes of receiving the call.
It took the lifeboat around ten minutes to reach the yacht which was securely anchored in calm, sunny conditions. After thoroughly assessing the situation it was decided that the safest course of action was to tow the vessel back to the nearest safe harbour which was Kippford. The yacht had no engine power and was unable to make a safe journey into the estuary.
A steady tow was established and the yacht was brought to the safety of the Solway Yacht Club pier in Kippford after around 50 minutes. Everyone on board was safe and well and the volunteer crew returned to station where the lifeboat was washed down and made ready for service.
Lifeboat Operations Manager, Gareth Jones, said: ‘ The crew of the vessel acted sensibly by dropping anchor when they lost engine power and using their radio to put out a call for assistance.’
Notes to editors
· Kippford Lifeboat Station has been operating since 1966. To learn more about the station go to https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeboat-stations/kippford-lifeboat-station
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