Dramatic late night rescue off Cornwall coast

A yacht which ran aground and left its crew stranded last night (Saturday, May 4) has been badly damaged. The 34ft single-handed yacht ran aground on rocks in poor weather conditions in Penzance.

The stuck vessel and its stranded crew had to be pulled back to sea with the help of Penlee Lifeboats. At 10.58pm two Penlee Lifeboats, the ALB Ivan Ellen and ILB Mollie & Ivor Dent, were launched after Falmouth Coastguard requested assistance to rescue a yacht and its crew near Penzance Promenade.

The Penlee Inshore Lifeboat, under the command of helmsman James Roberts, arrived on the scene and managed to get a line to the yacht despite the shallow water depth and poor conditions.

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Lifeboat crews boarded the yacht and discovered that it was taking on a lot of water. The hull of the boat was badly damaged by the rocks, causing it to flood.

The yacht had to be pumped out every 20 minutes for two hours as it was rescued. Eventually, the yacht was pulled from the ground and towed to the north pier to allow it to dry out at low tide.

Describing the rescue on social media, Penlee Lifeboat said: "Penlee Lifeboats save grounded yacht and crew last night. At 22:58 last night Both Penlee Lifeboats, the ALB Ivan Ellen and ILB Mollie & Ivor Dent launched after receiving a tasking request from Falmouth Coastguard.

"A 34ft single handed yacht went aground on the rocks in poor weather conditions near Penzance Promenade and was unable to refloat due to the onshore east wind.

"Penlee Inshore Lifeboat under the command of helmsman James Roberts arrived on scene and managed to get a line to the yacht despite the shallow depth and poor conditions, after around 20 mins the yacht was pulled off the rocks into deeper waters.

"Penlee All Weather Lifeboat put a crew man onto the yacht to assist the elderly skipper and quickly informed Coxswain Patch Harvey that the yacht was taking on a lot of water. Penlee ILB towed the yacht to Newlyn Harbour then the ALB rafted alongside the yacht, towed it to a pontoon berth then transferred the salvage pump.

"The yacht had suffered hull damage while aground and was taking on water. For the next 2 hours the yacht was being pumped out every 20 minutes. Nearing high tide the yacht was towed to the north pier so it would dry out at low tide to assess and hopefully repair the hull damage.

"Both boats returned to station at 02:15 to wash down and refuel in preparation for the next service."

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