Gafirs rescue 12 people in the Solent after 40-foot yacht loses its mast

A 40-FOOT yacht carrying 12 people had to be rescued yesterday after losing its mast while sailing in the Solent.

By The Newsroom

Published 2nd Oct 2016, 09:19 BST

Updated 5th Oct 2016, 14:21 BST

Gafirs rescuing a stranded 40-foot yacht in the Solent on October 1, 2016 PPP-160210-091309001

The vessel lost its mast and had rigging trailing in the water when Gafirs was sent to help.

A nearby yacht called the UK Coastguard at around 3pm after spotting the wayward vessel.

Coxswain Brian Pack said: ‘When we arrived on the scene a RIB was helping the vessel.

‘After we ascertained that no one needed any medical attention, we took over the tow from them and took the casualty yacht to Trinity Landing in Cowes.

‘Because of the challenging conditions in the Solent, this took around an hour but we eventually managed to get the crew back to shore safe and well.’

UK Coastguard