A 36 foot yacht that became entangled in the rope of a lobster pot marker buoy was safely freed after several attempts by the Swanage lifeboat crew.
The Swanage all weather lifeboat launched just after 7 pm on Thursday 11th July 2024 heading round Swanage Bay towards the Peveril Ledges, where the vessel was stuck fast in the strong ebb tide.
The Swanage all weather lifeboat (right) passes in front of Old Harry rocks following the yacht (far centre) back into the bay
Jammed rudder
The Shannon class lifeboat was soon alongside the 10 tonne steel hulled yacht and an initial assessment indicated that the rope from the buoy was wrapped around the rudder causing it to jam.
A lifeboat crew member was put aboard to see what could be done to get the boat free.
The towline was passed across and the yacht pulled gently backwards into the tide to see if the pressure could be taken off the rope allowing it to be cut or pulled free.
The Swanage lifeboat returns to the boathouse just after 8 pm
“Line came free”
Swanage Lifeboat Station reported:
“After a few failed attempts the towline was dropped and the crew decided to use the grapnel to try and get hold of the buoy line and then cut it.
“After a couple of attempts the line was hooked and pulled back towards the lifeboat. In doing so the line came free from the yacht allowing them to drift away into clear water.”
The lifeboat gets washed down ready for its next shout
Yacht escorted into Swanage Bay
The lifeboat crew recovered their gear while the yacht’s skipper checked that his engine and steering were functioning correctly and that no water had made its way into the boat.
With the skipper happy that all was now fine, the yacht was escorted to a mooring in Swanage Bay and the lifeboat volunteers made their way back to the lifeboat station.
