Cowes lifeboat raced to the aid of a young men on a jet-ski that had broken down in the shipping lane in mid-Solent this afternoon.
The break-down occurred in a Force 2/3 south-westerly, between Lee on Solent and East Cowes, just after 3 pm, shortly after he had launched his machine from a slipway at Lee on Solent.
Mobile phone used
Unable to restart the jet-ski, he then used his mobile phone to ask Solent Coastguards for help – describing his location and the close proximity of a ‘red buoy’ – which turned out to be Ryde Middle.
The RNLI’s Cowes-based Atlantric 85, with Kevin Richardson at the helm, was soon on the scene, and the water-jet was towed back to Lee on Solent. The lifeboat then returned to its station at Shepards Wharf.
A Coastguards’ spokesman said fortunately there were no shipping movements in the area at the time.
