Stricken sailing vessel off Ayrshire coast rescued by RNLI
Volunteers from the RNLI in Troon were called out to rescue a sailing vessel with "machinery problems" that was drifting off the Ayrshire coast.
Crews were alerted to the stricken vessel shortly after 2pm on Saturday, May 10.
Quickly on scene, the lifeboat crew assessed the situation and towed the 26ft sailing vessel back towards Troon harbour.
After safely arriving at Barassie Bay, the casualty vessel dropped anchor to fully assess the issues and plan repairs.
Troon RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager Jim Redmond said: "Mechanical failure is the single biggest cause of RNLI rescue callouts to sailing and motor cruisers and with the vessel drifting those onboard did the right thing by contacting the Coastguard.
"If you get into difficulty at sea, always call the Coastguard on VHF Channel 16 or by dialling 999."
A spokesperson for RNLI Troon said: "With the sun shining along the Ayrshire coast, at 2.08pm on Saturday, May 10, Belfast Coastguard paged the lifeboat crew to assist with a 26ft sailing vessel with machinery problems and now drifting to the south west of Troon harbour.
"With pagers sounding in homes throughout Troon, the volunteer crew made their way to the lifeboat station to launch the RNLI Trent class all-weather lifeboat 'RNLB Jim Moffat'.
"The lifeboat was soon launched and soon had sight of the casualty vessel.
"After carrying out an assessment, the vessel was taken under tow towards Troon harbour. As the lifeboat approached the harbour, the tow was stopped and the casualty vessel was able to deploy their anchor in Barassie Bay to assess the machinery problems.
"The lifeboat then returned to the berth and was made 'ready for service' with the assistance of the shore crew."
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