Porthcawl RNLI’s volunteer crew were paged by HM Coastguard at 3.02pm yesterday (Friday 28 August) following a 999 call from a lone sailor on a yacht in difficulty. The yacht had run aground on a sand bank and swamped its engine. The Mumbles RNLI all-weather lifeboat was also requested.

The inshore Atlantic 85 class lifeboat Rose of the Shires launched at 3.10pm into strong force 5-6 south westerly winds and moderate sea conditions and made best speed towards Scarweather Sands with the crew understanding that to be the most likely location of the casualty. It was around an hour and a half after low tide when the lifeboat launched into surf at Sandy Bay.

The lifeboat passaged out in fairly challenging conditions and as they got closer to Scarweather sand bank, the volunteer crew were unable to immediately spot the casualty and due to the conditions were struggling to locate them using radar. With the casualty unable to use their VHF radio at the time, the sailor was requested to fire a red flare, after which the lifeboat crew spotted the vessel.

On scene, the crew assessed the situation and observed that the yacht had taken on a significant amount of water. A decision was made that the safest course of action was to put a crew member onboard the yacht to further assess the situation. It was immediately apparent that the crew needed to get the sailor off as quickly as possible as it would be impossible to stem the flow of water.

The casualty was safely transferred on to the lifeboat before the vessel sank. Due to the challenging sea conditions at the time, the casualty was then transferred to the The Mumbles all-weather lifeboat and taken safely ashore at Swansea.

Speaking following the call out, Andrew Walmsley, Porthcawl RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager said: ‘The crew did a great job in difficult conditions. Time was of the essence and to locate the sailor quickly with fairly limited information and evacuate them from the sinking yacht resulted in a life saved and we want to wish the casualty well.

‘The Bristol Channel has the second largest tidal range in the world and can present people with challenging conditions where it can be easy to get caught out. We would like to commend the casualty for being prepared and having a means to call for help. Should you get into difficulty or see someone else in trouble, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.’

Ends

 

RNLI Media Contacts

For further information, please contact:

Chris Page, Porthcawl RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer

Claire Fitzpatrick-Smith, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for Wales, West of England and Isle of Man, 07977 728 315, [email protected]

Danielle Rush, RNLI Regional Communications Lead for Wales, West of England and Isle of Man, 07786 668829, [email protected]

RNLI Press Office, 01202 336789, [email protected]