YACHT SKIPPER UNSURE OF POSITION

Press Notice: 85-11

This afternoon, the duty watch at Yarmouth MRCC monitored a call from a yacht to Lowestoft Harbourmaster, stating that it had smoke coming from its engine, and was unable to enter the harbour.

At this point the Coastguard intervened and called the troubled yacht to ask if they required assistance.  The offer of assistance was declined, but as there had been mention of smoke coming from the engine, the Coastguard took action.

As the coastguard were communicating with the Lifeboat Ops Manager, Yarmouth Coastguard received a radio call from the wind farm standby vessel Eastern Aura who were in the vicinity of the Scroby Sands wind farm, who informed the Coastguard that they believed they had the vessel in sight.

The Coastguard asked the “Eastern Aura” to approach the yacht and confirm their identity.  Identity confirmed, it was discovered that the vessel was at least 10 miles further north than where it believed it was initially.

The Eastern Aura, a windfarm support vessel, secured a line to the casualty vessel, and as it was not permitted to leave the vicinity of the wind farm, it was able to hold station with the yacht in tow, so that it would not be blown into the shallow waters around the wind farm.

Meanwhile, the Coastguard had requested the launch of the Caister Volunteer Lifeboat who were tasked to assist the yacht, and some time later the yacht was towed safely into Great Yarmouth, where its crew were met by members of the Gorleston Coastguard Rescue Team, who offered appropriate safety advice.

Christina Martyn, Watch Manager, Yarmouth Coastguard said:

It is essential, when setting out to sea, to ensure that you have onboard fully updated charts, functional navigation equipment, and the ability to use them proficiently.

All boat skippers should obtain appropriate training before putting to sea.

Popular posts from this blog

Label your kit at the coast

Image
Kayaks. Canoes. Paddleboards. What do they all have in common? They’re quite often found on the coastline or drifting out to sea. And if we don’t know who they belong to, we can spend time searching for an owner when they’re home safe and sound. So please help us to help you. Label your kit so that if you do get separated from it, and it turns up somewhere, we can get hold of you. In recent weeks, our Coastguard Rescue Teams have found numerous items such as kayaks and canoes drifting out at sea or abandoned near the shoreline. Unfortunately, some of the items we have found have not had their owners’ contact details written on them nor been reported as missing to the Coastguard. As a result, it makes it difficult for us to find out who it belongs to and also means we can never be completely sure if someone is safe or in the worst case, in trouble at sea. This can place a huge strain on our resources especially during the busy summer period when we have to call upon our Coastgua
Read more

A short history of HM Coastguard

Image
Today HM Coastguard is a world leader in maritime search and rescue. Looking back almost 200 years, the goods, which now travel by road, were carried by hundreds of small ships. Year in year out dozens of ships and hundreds of lives were lost within sight of the coast. Public shock and dismay at the tragedies drove forward the creation of national life saving organisations. Though it’s beginnings lie in those decades HM Coastguard originated not to meet the dangers of the seas but to combat a threat to the country’s economy and security – smuggling. As soon as medieval taxes were charged on imports and exports, people began smuggling. By 1743 th e estimate was that half the tea drunk in Britain was illegally imported and shows that smuggling was highly profitable. Smugglers have often been romanticised but the reality was brutal. Local people lived in fear, with violent reprisals on informers and the murder of revenue officers, while corruption enabled smugglers to evade harsh p
Read more

BOSCASTLE FLOODS: TEN YEARS ON

Image
Boscastle Flooding 16 th August 2004 The storms of Monday 16 August 2004 saw three weeks worth of rain fall in one day. The resulting water began to be funnelled down the valleys surrounding Boscastle and soon the steep roads became rivers. By the time that the water reached the picturesque village, it had picked up enough momentum to become a raging torrent, sweeping into buildings, washing cars away and felling huge trees. Graham King runs the Witches Museum in Boscastle and was also the station officer for the Boscastle Coastguard Rescue Team at the time of the floods: “ My museum is situated next to the harbour near the river ,” says Graham “ and I can see the coastguard equipment store from there. Initially I was concerned that the vehicle and equipment were going to become stranded but I soon began to realise how quickly the situation was deteriorating and called Falmouth Coastguard ” From that point on the villagers and tourists stranded in flood waters were he
Read more