'Out of control' 40-foot yacht rescued on Scottish loch amid gale force winds

The Stranraer RNLI’s inshore lifeboat team said it was alerted by the coastguard to an adrift yacht in the north of Loch Ryan, a sea loch, just before 6pm.

The yacht, which had one person onboard, had suffered a failure of its anchor line and was being driven by strong winds towards “hazardous waters”.

The lifeboat team said the vessel was struggling to maintain control amid gale force conditions and that there was a risk of “immediate danger to life” for the person on board.

Crews on the Stena Superfast VII, a ferry which sails between Cairnryan and Belfast, was also involved by helping the lifeboat to locate the yacht, which the lifeboat team said was “rolling heavily and drifting beam-on to the seas”.

RNLI Girvan’s all-weather lifeboat was requested to tow the vessel to Stranraer Marina. The lifeboat was recovered and refuelled by 10pm.

A Stranraer RNLI spokesperson said “This was a challenging service carried out in very difficult weather. The yacht was being driven by strong winds and heavy seas after its anchor failed, and the situation was deteriorating.

“Following a full assessment, our inshore lifeboat was launched as it was the quickest asset able to reach the casualty and reduce the immediate risk to the person onboard.“

“Our volunteer crew worked calmly and professionally in demanding conditions to bring the vessel head-to-sea and stabilise it until Girvan’s all-weather lifeboat could arrive to complete the tow.

“We are very grateful to HM Coastguard and to the crew of Stena Superfast VII for their excellent support and coordination, which played a vital role in bringing this incident to a safe conclusion.

“Stranraer RNLI would like to thank HM Coastguard, the crew of the Stena Superfast VII, and Girvan RNLI for their coordination and support during this demanding service.”