Tynemouth RNLI rescues yacht 55 miles off North East coast in danger of sinking

A yacht was rescued 55 miles off the North East Coast last night by Tynemouth RNLI.

At 00:35am a Tynemouth all-weather lifeboat with eight crew on board launched into the night to locate the yacht which had a damaged rudder. It took them two and a half hours to reach the endangered boat.

The damage meant there was a risk of a hole opening at the bottom of the yacht which would result in water entering and sinking the vessel.

The lifeboat crew carried out emergency repairs and the yacht was escorted back to the Tyne.

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The lifeboat crew then rotated in shifts to ensure a safe watch was kept on the vessel at all times, checking in with them every 60 minutes on the seven hour trip back to the Tyne.

The lifeboat arrived back into the Tyne at 9:30am where the volunteer crew continued to escort the sailing vessel to Royal Quays Marina where it could undertake repairs. The lifeboat fuelled up to be made ready for service again, where some crew members came down to cook bacon sandwiches for the exhausted crew.

Once the yacht was alongside, the Coxswain went to inspect the vessel to understand the damage that had been caused.

Sam Clow, Tynemouth RNLI Coxswain explained: “If it weren’t for the quick thinking of the yacht’s crew and they had not completed the repairs to the vessel the yacht would surely have been lost. The crew had life rafts and grab bags prepared in case the worst were to happen, showing even experienced sailors can get into difficulties.”

Within 30 minutes of arriving back to the station, the station’s inshore lifeboat was called back into action to support Coastguard teams at South Shields.

Two of the crew members who had been on the go since midnight were also present on that shout.

In total they spent 11 hours at sea and made a 100 mile trip.