Port St Mary’s RNLI volunteers went to the aid of a vessel with engine failure, two miles off South Scarlett over the weekend.
The boat had three crew aboard and was left drifting in dense fog, with visibility reduced to just 50m.
Due to the poor conditions, the Trent class all-weather lifeboat Henry Heys Duckworth was also launched to aid in locating the casualty using radar.
Weather reports noted a slight sea and Force 1 southerly wind, but the stranded crew—having spent hours attempting to restart their engine—were disoriented.
Towed
The all-weather lifeboat located the vessel at 5.05pm.
The lifeboat crew did an initial casualty care check assessing that the crew aboard the casualty vessel were not injured but with no power or navigation, the vessel was deemed a hazard, and a tow was established.
Coxswain Morgan Guy opted to return to Port St Mary due to tidal conditions in Castletown with the inshore lifeboat taking over the tow into the harbour.
For newly qualified crew member Jane-Ann Thompson, it was her first operational shout.
She said, “All the hours of training came together and the shout had been a textbook operation with all fellow crew members working as a team,” adding praise for the crew’s camaraderie.
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