RNLI spots disabled yacht thanks to flare
17/07/2020
A sailor onboard a disabled yacht that was drifting into a traffic separation scheme in darkness was asked to fire a flare so rescuers could spot it.
The occupant initially called Falmouth Coastguard, as the disabled yacht had lost power and also its navigation lights and was drifting towards the Lands End traffic separation scheme.
The coastguard issued a Pan Pan call to all shipping in the area to look out for the 22-foot yacht. There was a danger it could drift into their path.
The Sennen Cove all-weather lifeboat City of London III launched early one morning in June with six RNLI volunteer crew on board.
In the darkness, heavy driving rain and the swell, the small yacht was difficult to spot on the lifeboat’s radar so the yachtsman was requested to launch a red distress flare, which the lifeboat crew spotted.
After checking that the yachtsman was safe and well, the yacht was towed to Newlyn.
The image shows Sennen Cove Lifeboat towing the casualty vessel towards Newlyn harbour at 6am. It is courtesy of RNLI/Tim Stevens.
