Lymington Lifeboat called out to sunken yacht in Newtown Creek
Lymington lifeboat were paged by HM Solent Coastguard at 9.26pm on Friday 28 February to attend the scene of a sunken yacht in the mouth of Newton Creek, a nature reserve on the Isle of Wight.
The lifeboat with four volunteer crew set off across a glassy calm Solent to assess the situation. En route crewman James Douch took the relayed details from the Coastguard. 'We were tasked to assess if the yacht was a hazard to navigation and if there was any debris or pollution from the sunken vessel. We understood that the yachts owner had abandoned the craft prior to it sinking.' Douch explains.
On arrival at Newtown Creek, members of the public on the shore directed the lifeboat to an unlit area just inside the entrance, where just the top of a mast and a dingy sponson were visible. The tide was flooding fast and it was obvious that at high water the mast would no longer be visible.
The crew confirmed that the vessel was a hazard to navigation and that there was no visible pollution. This information was passed to the Coastguard and onto Newtown Harbour Master.
'Our thanks to the members of the public who called this in. It allows us to warn other water users of the current hazard at Newtown Creek and helps us ensure no persons were in danger.' Douch concluded.
Crew: Phil Baker (helm), James Douch, Simon Naylor and Jo Styles.
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
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