A 20-foot fishing boat which had sprung a leak became the subject of a rescue operation off Gurnard over the weekend, involving two lifeboats including the RNLI’s Cowes boat.
First on the scene was Hamble’s independent lifeboat, already out in the Solent on exercise, whose crew found the leak came from the engine’s coolant pipe.
Towed to Cowes
The elder of the two anglers aboard was transferred to the Hamble lifeboat while his place on the fishing boat was taken by a Hamble crew member with a salvage pump. He was then joined by a crewman from the Cowes lifeboat, and water began to be extracted with a bucket.
Eventually Hamble towed the fishing boat against a strong tide to Trinity Landing, Cowes – shadowed all the way by the Cowes lifeboat.
Cowes lifeboat, which had launched around 11.30 on Saturday, was away from station some two hours.
News shared by George on behalf of Cowes RNLI. Ed
