Yacht 'dangerously close' to Goring beach sparks RNLI rescue

On Tuesday, June 2, HM Coastguard received reports of a yacht 'dangerously close' to the beach near Goring and asked the RNLI at Littlehampton to intervene and assist, a spokesman for the lifeboat service said.

At 7.13pm the charity’s volunteers were paged and launched the station’s B Class lifeboat Renee Sherman.

Sea conditions were calm and with a clear blue sky the crew soon located the 31ft yacht, but it was at high risk of running on to the beach, being less than 200 metres from the shore.

Acting quickly, a member of the RNLI rescue team boarded the yacht to assess the situation and took control of the helm in order to steer the yacht away from the shoreline and in to a safer position.

The yacht’s helm had sailed on his own from Newhaven,intending to go to Littlehampton, but became lost.

Because there were only light winds he had the vessel’s engine running, which meant that once one of the lifeboat crew was on board they could take control of the vessel’s course.

Shadowed by the lifeboat, the yacht was guided to Littlehampton Harbour where it was moored.

Jon Prater, Deputy Launching Authority, said: “The sea conditions were very calm, with only a light wind, clear sky and good visibility. However, it is easy to get disorientated at sea and locating landmarks even from a short distance offshore can be problematic.

"It’s important to be aware of the limitations of your vessel, and importantly yourself, before heading out to sea. Solo sailing can be exhilarating, but it also comes with risks – know your own physical limits.”