Three yachtsmen saved from Buxey Sands in heavy weather The crew of Clacton's relief Atlantic 21 and Walton and Frinton's Solent lifeboats have received letters of thanks from the RNLI's chief of operations following a joint service to a yacht aground in heavy weather on the Buxey Sands, off the river Crouch.

The chief of operations concluded that Tt is always a pleasure to hear about adjacent stations working alongside each other to achieve a successful conclusion to the mission' in addition to praising the way in which the Clacton crew had handled a very difficult situation.At 1949 on Tuesday, 5 April 1988 Thames Coastguard had reported to the Clacton station honorary secretary that a yacht, Westwind of Stour, was aground on the Buxey Sands and bumping badly in the NE Force 5 wind. There were three people on board, and assistance had been requested.

It was decided to launch Clacton's Atlantic 21 as soon as possible and, in view of the weather conditions and darkness, to request the launch of the Walton and Frinton SolentCity ofBirmingham to provide back-up cover.

The lifeboats launched almost simultaneously at 2010 in poor visibility, due to rain squalls, and moderate to rough seas kicked up by the NE wind.The Atlantic was first on the scene of the casualty after a rough 18-minute passage.

She found the yacht aground at an angle of heel and bumping severely in the very rough seas and shallow waters of the sands.

There was enough water to allow the Atlantic to approach the yacht, so helmsman Lee Bolingbroke decided to put a crew member aboard to assess the situation, and the condition of the three people aboard.

Aboard Crew member David Wells clambered aboard the yacht, which was moving violently, and finding the crew uninjured decided to lay out a kedge to prevent the yacht being driven further ashore on the flooding tide. The task was far from easy in the dark, on board a strange vessel and with the violent motion, but the anchor was rigged, passed to the lifeboat and laid out to seaward by 2110.

With the anchor in place the Atlantic took off the yacht's skipper and crew. The crew were cold, wet and seasick and asked to be taken ashore as soon as possible, but the skipper asked to be put aboard the Walton and Frinton lifeboat in case an attempt was made to tow his vessel off.

So, at 2134 the two lifeboats rendezvoused to transfer the skipper to City of Birmingham, before the Atlantic set off for her home station.

The passage back to Clacton was a rough one, as the lifeboat was heading into the weather, and took until 2230. The crew were given dry clothing and warm drinks before being driven home by a crew member who had helped with the launch and recovery.

Recovered Meanwhile City of Birmingham had approached as close as possible to Westwind of Stour, but coxswain Kemp decided that nothing further could be done because of the shallow water and heavy surf on the Sands and returned to station at Walton.

The lifeboat was back on her moorings at 2330, and refuelled and ready for service again by 0005.

Westwind of Stour was later recovered from the Buxey and towed to West Mersea by a private boat, owned by one of the West Mersea lifeboat crew members..