40ft yacht rescued by lifeboat after losing control during gale-force winds

A 40-foot yacht had to be rescued during gale-force winds after nearly being overwhelmed by waves near Stranraer.

HM Coastguard was called to urgent reports of the vessel adrift and unable to maintain control while being driven by strong winds north of Loch Ryan around 6pm on Sunday.

The yacht, which had one person on board, had suffered a failure of its anchor line and was heading towards hazardous water, threatening the life of the occupant.

Stranraer inshore lifeboat was launched due to the immediate danger to life amid a challenging sea state and poor weather.

The crew found the yacht rolling heavily and drifting beam-on to the seas and set about establishing control lines to bring it head-to-sea.

The vessel was eventually stabilised, and the RNLI Girvan’s lifeboat was called in to help tow it to harbour.

The yacht was towed to safety Yacht rescued from Stranraer RNLI Lifeboat

The yacht was towed towards Stranraer Marina and safely secured.

A Stranraer RNLI spokesperson said: “This was a challenging service carried out in very difficult weather. The yacht was being driven by strong winds and heavy seas after its anchor failed, and the situation was deteriorating.

“Following a full assessment, our inshore lifeboat was launched as it was the quickest asset able to reach the casualty and reduce the immediate risk to the person onboard.

“Our volunteer crew worked calmly and professionally in demanding conditions to bring the vessel head-to-sea and stabilise it until Girvan’s all-weather lifeboat could arrive to complete the tow.

“We are very grateful to HM Coastguard and to the crew of Stena Superfast VII for their excellent support and coordination, which played a vital role in bringing this incident to a safe conclusion.”