On 17th May at 12:40am, a 999 call was received from a 12 metre sailing yacht in difficulty close to
Rosaire Steps. The yacht had broken free from its mooring whilst the crew were sleeping and had
run aground on a reef causing the boat to lean over severely. Concerned that the boat was damaged
and taking on water, the crew abandoned ship to their dinghy and called for assistance.
Both St Peter Port All Weather Lifeboat "Spirit of Guernsey" (ALB) and the Inshore Lifeboat
"Elizabeth and Margaret Milligan" (ILB) were paged, launching on service at 1:10am. Once on scene,
the ILB was able to recover the crew from the dinghy and transfer them to the safety of the ALB.
Whilst the crew were shaken, none had sustained any injuries. With the tide falling the yacht was
unable to be re-floated immediately. The ILB crew set about securing the vessel and setting lines to
assist in recovering her once the tide had risen.
The yacht began to float at around 4:15am with the ILB pulling her safely off the rocks shortly after.
Lifeboat crew assessed the vessel for damage and once it was clear that the boat was not taking on
any water, the ALB connected a tow astern and recovered the vessel and her crew safely back to St
Peter Port arriving shortly after 5:15am.
Guernsey Coastguard SAR Mission Coordinator James Way said "the crew of the sailing yacht were
extremely fortunate that no injuries were sustained, and no significant damage was caused to their
vessel. The crew of both Lifeboats did an exceptional job in bringing both the vessel and her crew to
safety".