Three rescued from yacht in severe gales The events leading up to Alderney lifeboat' s service to the 23ft yacht Whisky Mac are recounted in the report of St Peter Port lifeboat's Silver Medal service to the yacht Sena Sioria (main story, this page). St Peter Port's Arun was called away to deal with the second yacht when it was established that Wliisky Mac was well to the north of Alderney (not to the south as she had originally reported).

The Waveney, Louis Marchesi of Round Table, was able to obtain a bearing on a flare fired by the yacht at 0040 and set a course to the NW towards her actual position, some 17 miles distant.

With a southerly wind now touchingForce 9 it took the lifeboat until 0159 to reach Wh isky Mac, where the lifeboat crew first saw her through a rain squall, surfing down a large wave on her beam ends with her three crew huddled in the cockpit. The coxswain and crew were surprised to note that the companionway hatch was open and the washboards out.

The sea was very rough, with a swell almost 20ft high, and so the coxswain decided that the safest course of action was to tow the yacht with the survivors still aboard - recognising the risk that in the severe conditions it was possible that such a small boat might break up under tow.

Three attempts were necessary before a tow line could be put aboard Whisky Mac, and during the first of these the yachtsurfed down a wave and almost landed on the lifeboat, which had to be driven hard astern to avoid the casualty.

The long tow back to Alderney, upwind in very rough conditions and with winds gusting now to Force 10 was difficult, with only small alterations of course possible to avoid damage to the casualty.

The tow had to be suspended for a while when the yacht's outboard engine broke loose and threatened to hole the vessel, but this was secured again and the lifeboat and tow finally reached the shelter of Braye Harbour, Alderney at 0630.

The yacht was secured to a mooring with the aid of the station's boarding boat and the lifeboat was refuelled and ready for service again at 0700.

The actions of the crew in such difficult conditions were recognised in a letter of appreciation sent to them by the Institution's chief of operations Commodore George Cooper..