Douglas RNLI lifeboat was launched yesterday (19 June) at 8.35pm following the report of a yacht in difficulty approximately one mile off Douglas.
The 11m yacht with four people on board had been making its way back to Douglas when the roller reefing system of the foresail jammed making the sail unusable. Unable to start the yacht's engine and drifting east in the offshore wind the crew radioed the Coastguard for assistance
The Douglas all weather lifeboat, Sir William Hillary, under the command of volunteer coxswain Neal Corran reached the casualty vessel just after 8.45pm by which time the yacht had drifted a further three miles away from the Island.
The yacht was towed back to Douglas and berthed alongside the Visitors' Pontoon on the Battery Pier where the Coastguards were waiting to assist, the four people on board being none the worse for their ordeal.
Photo - Douglas lifeboat Sir William Hillary with casualty vessel in Douglas harbour. Credit: RNLI/Michael Howland.
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