YACHT AGROUND AT GOODWIN SANDS

Just before 4.00 am this morning Dover Coastguard received a mayday distress call from the crew of the yacht Barraccuda. The yacht hit difficulties and ran aground at Goodwin Sands, off Ramsgate in Kent.

Dover Coastguard requested the Ramsgate lifeboat to attend the scene where the three crew were winched off the stricken yacht by the RAF Search and Rescue helicopter from Wattisham. None of the crew sustained any injuries.

The Margate Coastguard Rescue Team created a landing site for the helicopter at Government Acre, a cliff top, where they met the crew and then transferred them to the Ramsgate lifeboat station.

The Ramsgate inshore and all weather lifeboats remain with the yacht . The salvage plan is to continue to pump out water from the yacht, until it is in a state where it can be towed by the lifeboat back to shore.

Nicola Goodban, Watch Manager, Dover Coastguard said:

I would like to thank the rescue teams involved in this incident. Their fast and accurate assistance led to the smooth recovery of this yacht's crew.

Popular posts from this blog

Celebrating the first Cospas-Sarsat Global Search and Rescue Day

Image
Today ( 10 September ) i s the first ' Cospas-Sarsat Global Search and Rescue Day' , and HM Coastguard colleagues are joining with t he international maritime and aviation community to c el ebrate the unique role they play in Search and Rescue .      In brief, C ospas-Sarsat is the system that detects and locates emergency beacons activated by aircraft , ships and people engaged in recreational activities in remote areas and then sends these distress alerts to search-and-rescue (SAR) authorities.     It means that if you are in distress anywhere in the world, by using the alert system, it will send your co-ordinate s (location) to the relevant SAR authorities. It’s estimated that over 60,000 lives have been saved worldwide since its inception in 1982.   There are 33 Mission Control Centres (MCCs) across the globe which serve as Ground Stations where distress alerts are received and validated before being transmitted to appropriate Rescue Coord...
Read more

A seriously scary walk in Wales

Image
One April day, Sally  lost her map, her hat and n early her life at L lansteffan .     An inno cent walk along the coast in Wales rapidly turned into something much more sinister for Sally and Clayton . One wrong step onto soft sand set off a chain of events that put Sally in a life-threatening situation . For Clayton , time stood still a s he could only watch the tide threatening to engulf Sally as they waited for their rescuers to arrive.   Fast response Thanks to the fast, life - sa ving decisions at the c oastguard operations centre at Milford Haven and a rapid response from the rescue teams , Sally and Clayton made it safely home after their ordeal last spring . But they both admit it was a shockingly close call and a n experience they never want to live through again.    They know they are incredibly lucky and are sharing their story to encourage anyone visit i ng the coast to always check the tide times , so a nice walk does not tu...
Read more

Rescue of teens trapped and in trouble at Bude

Image
A technical rescue tale of expert teams working together one August night. Two teenagers found themselves in serious trouble on a Saturday night on the rugged coast at Bude in Cornwall (23 August 2025) .  Their afternoon’s adventure had left them in a perilous position after the rising tide came in and trapped them , leaving no way out and creating a challenging rescue scenario for the HM Coastguard teams.     Teams at the scene working together Earlier that day, the two young men had climbed down a cliff below Upper Lynstone Caravan Park in Bude, below which there are narrow stretches of sand and rocks when the tide is out but are completely covered when the tide comes in . The pair were caught out by the tide and as they tried to climb back up the unstable, stony cliff to get away from the pounding waves , one slipped and both became trapped. To make matters worse, darkness fell and there was no-one in sight.   Luckily they had a mobile phone and cal...
Read more