A Force 6 wind against tide led to Cowes RNLI lifeboat going to the aid today, Friday 13, of a 35-foot yacht on which three of the four men aboard were suffering from severe sea-sickness.
A radio call for help came as the skipper sailed from mid-Solent to the relative shelter of Osborne Bay on the Isle of Wight after failing to start his engine.
The lifeboat launched at 3.50pm, and on arrival at the scene a lifeboat crew member went aboard and gave out seasick tablets.
The yacht was towed to Trinity Landing at Cowes, where coastguards were waiting to give the sick crew-men further attention.
It was the first time that Jason Hughes, a newly appointed deputy launch officer at Cowes, has given the required go-ahead for a launching.