The yacht with three people on board had been making for Douglas having left the UK the previous evening when it ran into difficulty approximately 26 miles south east of Douglas in the early hours of this morning.
The yacht had been making good progress towards the Island when the wind dropped leaving the yacht to continue making way under power. The yacht’s engine then overheated and failed at which point the crew radioed the Coastguard for assistance.
With the benefit of a clear night and calm sea the RNLI all-weather lifeboat Marine Engineer was launched under the command of volunteer coxswain Edd Christian. A fishing boat had been standing by and illuminating the stricken yacht with its searchlights enabling the lifeboat crew to easily locate the casualty vessel. After ensuring that the yacht’s occupants were not in need of any assistance themselves, the yacht was taken under tow back to Douglas harbour to a berth on the Visitors’ Pontoon at the Battery Pier where the Douglas Coastguard were waiting to assist.
Leaving the yacht and its crew in the care of the Coastguard the lifeboat returned to station to be re-housed, washed down, re-fuelled and was made ready again for service.