The Uk Coastguards received an emergency 999 call from a member of public reporting a small yacht appeared to be aground approximately 200 metres west of Selsey Bill.
Selsey Coastguard Rescue team were sent to assess the yacht and on arrival found the yacht had floated off the bank and was now just east of Selsey Bill close inshore. The team requested the Inshore lifeboat to check the welfare of the yacht crew after attempts to make contact via vhf radio failed.
The lifeboard launched at 6.59pm and was quickly on scene with the 22ft yacht with one person on board.
The person said he had been aground but was now going to anchor off Selsey for the night.
Soon after deploying the anchor, it was noted by the lifeboat crew that it was not holding and closed with the yacht to speak with the skipper. It was also noted that a porthole glass was broken on the yacht.
The weather on scene was wind westerly force 4-5 sea state moderate with cloudy sky.
The UK Coastguards had a phone conversation with the station operations manager and decided with the weather due to deteriorate rapidly during the following morning the best option was to launch the all-weather lifeboat and tow the yacht to the nearest port of safety - Chicheser Harbour.
The yacht was taken into Sparkes marina.
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates over 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and, in a normal year, more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.
The crews members were: Coxswain Dave Lamdin, Mechanic Phil Pitham, Will Moir, Craig Sergeant, Neil Hopcraft, Tom Davidson (trainee), Helmsman Harry Emmence, Dan Langford and Jake Harnett.
Source: Selsey Lifeboat 30/09/2021
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