A yacht was grounded in the Isles of Scilly after it was dragged ashore at St Agnes in gale force conditions.
The vessel sounded ‘mayday’ at The Cove in St Agnes just before 1am on Saturday, June 6 in a full gale, St Mary’s RNLI said.
RNLI volunteers launched the lifeboat and sped to the cove in poor conditions, with breaking waves and pouring rain reducing visibility.
Though little could be seen through the rain, the RNLI said, the yacht was seen well aground in the sand bar.
“There was nothing that could be done from The Cove and as there is no Coastguard team on St Agnes there is no one to go down to the bar and investigate,” St Mary’s RNLI said, and the lifeboat headed back to the quay while the Y boat launched.
Two crew went ashore to assess the yachters, who were found fine with residents of Gugh. One of the residents spoke fluent French which helped communicate with the sailors.
The RNLI said the yacht had been tied to a mooring but had been dragged ashore. In grounding, the rudder had been broken off and the prop shaft was damaged.
“With the sailors safe the Lifeboat crew returned to the Y boat and back to the lifeboat and the lifeboat was stood down,” the RNLI said.
“Also tasked was R924 from Newquay but they were stood down once the information came through that the vessel was aground and the sailors were safely ashore.”
