Yarmouth RNLI attend three shouts during Round the Island Race 2024

Saturday 15th June 2024 saw more than 900 sailing boats enter the ever-popular sailing event, organised by The Island Sailing Club. Over 150 completed the race from Cowes in the 50 nautical mile course.

Yarmouth Lifeboat 17-25 Eric and Susan Hiscock (Wanderer) was one of many RNLI vessels helping provide rescue cover and navigate through the vast number of boats competing in the annual race around the Isle of Wight alongside HM Coastguard teams and other independent assets.

Yarmouth lifeboat and her crew launched in the rain and poor visibility at 7:30am and made their way to a point between Hurst Castle and the Needles Lighthouse to begin their essential safety cover as the main fleet made their way through the course. However, from the offset the weather had taken a turn for the worse, and saw many of the competitors retire early on in the race between Cowes and Alum Bay, but there were larger vessels in different fleets who managed to navigate and make passage to complete the course back to Cowes.

Yarmouth lifeboat were first tasked at 7:50am to a mayday from a sailing yacht one nautical mile off Yarmouth Harbour who had reported being in a collision, and had began to take on water. Once on scene, Lymington Lifeboat was already assessing the situation and the casualty vessel’s tasking was handed over to them. Lymington lifeboat then escorted them back to the mouth of Yarmouth Harbour.

Yarmouth’s second tasking at 10am was for a sailing yacht who was reported to have broken their rudder five miles south of Atherfield Ledge. Once on scene, Yarmouth Lifeboat waited with the casualty vessel providing safety cover in three to four metre swells until a safety boat from the Island Sailing Club arrived on scene to take them back to Cowes via a towline.

And the third tasking came in just after 11am from HM Coastguard, where Yarmouth Lifeboat was required to help in a search after a man over board call located close to The Needles. Whilst on route, the tasking was stood down due to the casualty being recovered from the water prior to the lifeboats arrival.

It has been noted that throughout the day, several sailboats encountered difficulties due to sudden shifts in wind patterns and large swells, necessitating immediate assistance from the rescue crews who were all afloat and prepared to arrive on-scene quickly when required who included RNLI assets from Lymington, Cowes, Calshot, Portsmouth, Bembridge, Mudeford and Selsey.

Yarmouth Lifeboat crew completed the course themselves as it was deemed necessary that they followed the fleet around the south and east of the island due to the poor weather conditions, and once the majority of the main fleet had returned to Cowes, they made passage back to station in Yarmouth and were marked ready for service at 2:30pm

Yarmouth RNLI Station would like to send their congratulations to all who entered the race and give thanks to all the operational rescue vessels involved.

Notes to editors

● Round the Island Race first took place in 1931 where just 25 boats entered.

● The record time for completing the race was in 2017 with a time of 2 hours, 22 minutes, and 23 seconds.

● RNLI Lifeboat units involved included Lymington, Mudeford, Bembridge ALB and ILB, Cowes, Calshot, Portsmouth and Selsey. Independent units included Sandown & Shanklin Independent, Freshwater Independent who were ready for immediate launch when needed as well as Solent Rescue, Ryde, Hamble and Gosport Independent Lifeboats.

RNLI contact details:

● Hebe Gregory, Yarmouth RNLI Lifeboat Press Officer [email protected]

● Hatti Mellor, Regional Communications Manager (South East & London) [email protected]

● Julie Rainey, Regional Communications Lead (South East) [email protected]

For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789

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The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

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