Port St Mary lifeboat launched twice in the space of ten hours over the weekend, responding to two separate yachts in difficulty south‑east of the island.
The first call came at 5.44pm on Saturday (May 16), after a yacht suffered a broken mast around 18 miles from Port St Mary.
Seven volunteers launched aboard the Henry Heys Duckworth, reaching the vessel at 6.50pm and finding the lone sailor safe.
A crew member went aboard to clear rigging from the water, and the yacht was escorted to Douglas, arriving at 11.45pm. The lifeboat was refuelled and ready again by 1.08am.
Second Call
Just over two hours later, at 3.13am on Sunday, the crew were paged again, this time to a yacht with engine trouble and jammed rigging around 14 miles east‑south‑east of Port St Mary.
The lifeboat arrived at 4.15am and checked on the two people aboard, who were safe but tired. The yacht was escorted to Douglas, arriving at 8.55am, before the lifeboat returned to station and was made ready by 10.30am.
Lifeboat Operations Manager Mike Teare said the back‑to‑back launches showed the “commitment and resilience” of the volunteer crew.
He said: “These two incidents demonstrate the commitment and resilience of our volunteer crew, who are prepared to respond at a moment’s notice when their pagers are activated.
“After returning home from the first call, some of the team only had a short period before being called out again. We would like to thank HM Coastguard for coordinating both rescues, the merchant vessels in the area that stood by to assist, and IOM Harbours for their support in Douglas Harbour.
“The yachts involved were equipped with communication systems that helped us to locate them and maintain contact throughout. We would also ask everyone going to sea to ensure their craft are properly maintained and suitably equipped.”
