Yacht saved by shore helpers ILFRACOMBE LIFEBOAT, the 37ft Oakley class Lloyds II, had launched to a yacht in difficulties in an east-north-easterly gale on the night of Friday June 20, 1986. With the help of a local sand dredger Arco Tamar which provided a lee, two lifeboat crew members boarded the yacht and a tow was successfully passed.

Soon after the lifeboat had launched on the service another yacht came into Ilfracombe's outer harbour and beached herself, her skipper believing such action was better than to anchor off the pier in the heavy sea running.

Shortly afterwards another yacht did the same thing in spite of warning shouts from the first yacht to keep out to sea.

This second yacht. Lucky Girl, a 26ft Westerly bilge keeler, only put out an anchor when she was aground and the sea from the east-north-easterly gale, running straight on to the beach, was giving both yachts a very rough time. As the tide came in Lucky Girl began to bounce her way up the beach. She could not haul off because her anchor mooring had parted and eventually she broached and nearly capsized.

At this point the lifeboat's tractor which had been awaiting the return of the lifeboat was brought down to the water line to light up the scene. Shore helpers were able to rig lines in the surf which, when hauled on from the shore, kept the bows of Lucky Girl pointing seawards. The shore helpers then secured a heavy manila rope from the lifeboat house to a permanent mooring on the beach above the water line which they finally passed to the yacht.

As the tide made, the yacht, still bouncing the beach in the surf, moved past the mooring so that her crew were able to heave themselves afloat. At this stage she was just short of being driven on to the inner harbour wall. The next low water revealed that two heavy concrete sinkers, to which the mooring rope was attached by harbour chain.had been pulled right out of the sand.

The first yacht, meanwhile, had been able to get a line to the shore by which means the crew managed to haul themselves off the beach as the tide came in.

The chief of operations, Cdr Bruce Cairns, wrote to Ilfracombe's honorary secretary following this incident, thanking all the lifeboat shore helpers for their efforts in the wet, windy and dangerous conditions which undoubtedly saved Lucky Girl from being smashed against the harbour wall..