
Port St. Mary Lifeboat rescues lone yachtsman
Port St Mary RNLI Lifeboat launch to assist a lone yachtsman aboard a 30-ft Catamaran following a Pan Pan call.
On 18 October 2024, a lone yachtsman was located 25 miles south of the Isle of Man when he broadcasted a Pan Pan call. This call resulted in HM Coastguard tasking the Port St Mary all weather lifeboat at 12.14pm.
The catamaran had sailed from Bangor in North Wales. The vessel was in difficulty as the sails had blown out and it only had enough fuel to manoeuvre in harbour. The Trent Class all weather lifeboat Gough Ritchie II with her volunteer crew slipped moorings at 1230 and proceeded to the given location.
In addition to the RNLI response a Coastguard fixed wing aircraft circled overhead to assist in locating the casualty. The south-south westerly wind force four gusting to seven and 1.5m swell made the operation challenging. A merchant ship Pacific Grebe arrived on scene to offer some protection from the rough seas.
The all weather lifeboat arrived on scene at 1.43pm and established that the casualty was not injured and decided that a tow was necessary. The casualty had no power and was a hazard in a shipping lane.
A tow was established in difficult conditions at 2.10PM and it was originally intended to take the casualty to Douglas. The sea state and wind direction made progress very slow, so Coxswain Morgan Guy decided to proceed to Port St Mary which ensured improved towing conditions.
The casualty was tied up alongside the breakwater in Port St Mary at 5.40pm assisted by the shore crew and local Coastguards.
For Juan Maddrell, this was his first shout since qualifying as a crew member. Juan stated that ‘All the hours of training came together, the shout was a text book operation. The crew worked as a team; the camaraderie was great.’
The all weather lifeboat was refuelled and washed down and placed back on the mooring at 6.30pm and was back on service ready for the next shout at 6.50pm.
Notes to editors:
- Port St Mary lifeboat station has been operating since 1896
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