Portsmouth lifeboat crew help rescue two sailors who lost power on stranded boat on the way to Southsea Marina

The crew of the D-class lifeboat(Dennis Faro D-850) at Portsmouth Lifeboat Station were called out to the scene. There was concern for life reported after one passenger had exited the 17 foot boat and was standing in the mud flats holding the boat from drifting. Having received a pager from Solent Coastguard on Sunday, February 11, at 6.24pm, they were able to complete the rescue and and be back at the station in under an hour.

A Portsmouth Lifeboat Station spokesperson said on Facebook: "We were swiftly launched and on scene which is just a few 100m from the lifeboat station and commenced a search for the vessel. At 18:38 we located the casualty vessel which was now alongside the fuel pontoon. They had been able to restart the engine, recover back onto the boat and make the way to the pontoon under their own power.

"Our crew carried out welfare checks to ensure everyone was safe and in no need of further assistance. We were released from the tasking by Solent Coastguard, returned to the station to wash down, refuel and be ready to be back on pagers by 7.19pm."

The incident ended successfully for all onboard, crucially though the stranded sailors had a mobile phone on them to contact the coastguard. The spokesperson said: "In this case the casualties contacted the Coastguard via a mobile phone. This highlights the need to have a means of communication to get help if you require it."

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution are a charity that are wholly funded by donations. If you see an issue at sea or someone in the water, their advice is to call 999 and ask for the coastguard.