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Yacht and crew saved in horrendous conditions

On Oct 31, 2022, at 8.25 p.m. the lifeboat 'Ivan Ellen' of the RNLI station Penlee was tasked by the HM Coastguard to assist the 'Gannets' with eight persons onboard, which was taking on water two miles southwest of Porthleven in wind speeds gusting to 85 mph. At 8.33 p.m., the 'Ivan Ellen' launched from Newlyn into bad weather conditions amid winds gusting to Force 10, heavy rain, rough seas and extremely poor visibility and sailed across Mount’s Bay towards the yacht, which was drifting southeast towards the shore. It was pitching and tossing and there was no sea room for the lifeboat crew to work with. The prevailing sea conditions were far too poor to safely transfer a crew member across to the yacht with a pump. The lifeboat managed to get alongside the yacht and spoke to its skipper via VHF radio. The skipper indicated that they did not have sufficient safety equipment for the eight persons onboard to safely abandon the yacht. Setting up a tow was the next best option to prevent the yacht from drifting closer to the rocks and going ashore. In very challenging conditions, a tow was connected to the stricken yacht on the first throw. The lifeboat then towed her to deeper water, but after 3-4 minutes the wet and heavy tow rope parted and had to be pulled back on to the lifeboat by the crew, while the yacht continued drifting about a mile off the shore. A second tow rope was connected on the first attempt. and the 'Ivan Ellen' proceeded to tow the yacht in a westerly direction, into the prevailing weather conditions at about two knots. At some stage the yacht's port side hull window had smashed, and water was pouring into the forehead cabin. A further VHF call from the yacht's skipper indicated that they were taking in more water, up to their shins, and that two of his crew were really poorly. Coxswain Patch Harvey immediately contacted the Falmouth Coastguard and requested urgent helicopter assistance. At the time, the Coastguard Rescue Helicopter 924 was on route to a tasking but was redirected to the scene. In the most difficult and extreme conditions, while the lifeboat kept the yacht under tow heading into the weather, the crew of Rescue 924 managed to winch the eight crew members of the 'Gannets' to the safety of the helicopter. The yacht was kept under tow, and despite taking on more water, arrived safely back in Newlyn Harbour at 01.30 a.m. She was met by the Inshore lifeboat ‘Mollie and Ivor Dent’, which assisted with towing and putting crew members onboard the yacht. Report with photos: https://rnli.org/news-and-media/2022/november/01/safe-return-to-harbour-for-penlee-lifeboat-after-difficult-shout