Jersey lifeboat rescues sinking French yacht

Monday 18 October 2021

A Jersey lifeboat team were called out to make an early-hours rescue after the crew of a stricken French yacht woke up in the middle of the night to find their cabin knee-deep in water.

The rescue, which also involved French authorities, took place just before 02:00 on Sunday near Les Écréhous.

It is believed that as the boat grounded on the low tide, pressure on the hull or keel caused the water to get in, but then as she floated, the hull resealed.

The yacht's crew had been sleeping, but woke up to find their cabin filled with water.

The RNLI St. Catherine’s Inshore Lifeboat was the first to arrive at the Écréhous, where it was joined by a French naval helicopter which stood by with a large salvage pump on board.

Once the lifeboat’s salvage pump was put on board and the water level started to drop, the helicopter then left.

By that time, the St. Helier all-weather lifeboat had also arrived with a back-up salvage pump.

In addition, the Carteret SNSM (Société nationale de sauvetage en mer) lifeboat also made its way down.

Once the water level inside the yacht was low enough and under control, the St. Catherine’s lifeboat guided the vessel out of the reef and handed her over to the Carteret lifeboat for the return to Carteret.

After over four hours at sea, both RNLI Jersey lifeboats then returned to their respective stations for washing down and refuelling ahead of their next services.