The Summer Solstice saw a seven hour rescue around 55 miles off the North East coast when a 47ft sailing vessel encountered a broken rudder.
The component is used to steer a ship and sits near the stern of a vessel and had become damaged while out at sea. This risked opening a hole in the bottom of the yacht causing water to enter and sink the vessel. But thanks to the rescue efforts of Tynemouth's Severn Class all-weather lifeboat and its crew, the vessel and those onboard were brought to safety.
RNLI's Tynemouth all-weather lifeboat and eight crew onboard, launched at 12.35am on Wednesday to locate the yacht that had declared an urgent Pan-Pan. The lifeboat made best speed to their location, arriving around two and a half hours later.
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Once on scene, the lifeboat communicated with the crew and found that the rudder of the vessel had become damaged. The crew had made some emergency repairs using wood and straps but it would not hold for a long distance.
Between the Coxswain of the lifeboat and the yacht's skipper, it was decided that as the repairs seemed to be holding, it was best that the lifeboat escort the yacht back to the safety of the Tyne but stand by to provide immediate assistance should the repairs fail.
The lifeboat crew then rotated in shifts to ensure a safe watch was kept on the vessel at all times, checking in with them every 60 minutes on the seven hour trip back to the Tyne. The lifeboat arrived back into the Tyne at 9:30am where the volunteer crew continued to escort the sailing vessel to Royal Quays Marina where it could undertake repairs.
The lifeboat fuelled up to be made ready for service again, while some crew members headed to base to cook bacon sandwiches for the exhausted crew. Once the yacht was alongside, the Coxswain went to inspect the vessel to understand the damage that had been caused.
Sam Clow, Tynemouth RNLI Coxswain said: "If it weren't for the quick thinking of the yacht's crew and they had not completed the repairs to the vessel the yacht would surely have been lost. The crew had life rafts and grab bags prepared in case the worst were to happen, showing even experienced sailors can get into difficulties."
On arriving back at the station at 10.30am, within 30 minutes the station's inshore lifeboat (ILB) was called into action to support Coastguard teams at South Shields. Two of the crew members, who had been on the go since midnight, were also present on that shout. It was a total of 11 hours at sea and a 100 mile round trip, which meant a long day for all involved.
If you need assistance by the coast dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
