Lifeboat crew rescue five people and a rudderless yacht

Five people stranded on a rudderless 38-foot yacht in the Solent were taken to safety by Cowes RNLI lifeboat at lunch-time today (Saturday).

After losing their rudder just outside the Cowes Harbour breakwater they had dropped their anchor; while this prevented the yacht suffering any further mishap in the windy conditions, the anchor proved difficult to retrieve once the lifeboat arrived on the scene.

As a result, the anchor line had to be cut loose land attached to a marker buoy for a later retrieval attempt.

The lifeboat then carried out an alongside tow of the yacht to East Cowes Marina.