Two people who were hoping to sail from the Isle of Wight to Liverpool, had to be rescued by Swanage RNLI when their yacht hit the old pier in Swanage Bay in Dorset.
The wooden hulled vessel quickly started to take on water after the collision on Friday 20th September 2024 but fortunately the incident happened within sight of Swanage Lifeboat Station.
The Swanage inshore lifeboat rescues two people from the sinking yacht not far from the lifeboat station
“Significant ingress of water”
Just before 6 am, the lifeboat crew volunteers were woken by their pagers, and even though some must have been a bit bleary eyed, no one had any difficulty in locating the yacht, just metres from the boathouse.
Swanage Lifeboat Station reported:
“The stricken yacht was visible from the lifeboat station between the old pier and the shore.
“The D class inshore lifeboat went alongside in the shallow waters and took two casualties from a yacht that was taking on water, while the Shannon class lifeboat stood by.
“The yacht was at anchor, but damage to the hull was causing a significant ingress of water, making it impossible to tow it safely.”
The yacht was rapidly taking on water after hitting the old pier
Shortly later, it sunk in the bay
Yacht was left at anchor half submerged
Swanage Coastguard was also at the scene and was able to assist from the shore, as the couple who owned the yacht were taken to the lifeboat station.
With no further risk to life and the job of the emergency services fulfilled, the yacht was left at anchor, although half submerged.
Now it is the responsibility of the owners to plan the recovery of their vessel.
It’s understood that they were sailing from the Isle of Wight to Liverpool in order to get the yacht refitted but only got as far as Swanage due to the unfavourable weather conditions.
Early morning wake up call for the volunteers
“Continuing to monitor the boat for pollution”
Swanage Coastguard station officer Ian Brown said:
“We were called out at 6 am and assisted as two people were taken off the sinking yacht, which had struck the old pier by the lifeboat station.
“Along with our partner agencies, we are continuing to monitor the boat for pollution.
“While the yacht remains submerged in the bay, I’d ask members of the public not to put themselves at risk in any way in relation to the vessel.”
It’s been a busy month for Swanage’s coastguard and lifeboat crews, with the lifeboat having already launched six times during September 2024.
