St Mary's RNLI assist yacht on the rocks in the early hours

The volunteer crew of St. Mary's RNLI lifeboat received a call at 1.45am on Tuesday (27 June) that a yacht was aground on an ebbing tide. Once on the scene, in Porthcressa Bay, the crew, under the command of coxswain Peter Hicks, launched the smaller Y boat to check on the safety of the three people on board and to examine the damage to the hull.

The crew set the yacht's anchor into deeper water to prevent the boat moving further onto the rocks and then transferred the three people onto the lifeboat, after they'd collected their personal belongings and documents.

The lifeboat then returned to St. Mary's harbour where the casualties were handed over to local Coastguard team.

Key facts about the RNLI

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 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and 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.

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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.