Crew saved after long and difficult service to capsized trimaran Yarmouth's Arun Joy and John Wade was involved in a service on 11 December 1993 which made headlines in the national press. The lifeboat had spent nearly five hours at sea - with a crew member hanging on to an upturned trimaran for three hours - to rescue a woman trapped inside the casualty.The trimaran Triharda had been on passage from Poole to Chichester with three people on board when she capsized in rough seas west of the Needles at 1330.

One of the crew (a 27-year-old woman) was trapped in the main hull and the others were clinging to the hull.

At 1608 the station received an urgent request to launch and the lifeboat left Yarmouth at 1617 reaching the casualty about 30 minutes later. A Navy helicopter, with a diver on board arrived at approximately the same time.

The Arun's Y boat was launched with crew members John Hinton and Myles Mence aboard, and Mence joinedhe Navy diver already aboard the casualty taking a hand-held VHP radio.

The woman was trapped, and although it was possible to talk to her through the hull the diver felt it would be very difficult to get her out in the rough conditions.

The information was passed to coxswain Dave Kennett, who decided not to break into the hull for fear of reducing the size of the air pocket, with possible dangerous consequences. The only option was to tow the casualty into calm water.

Securing the line to a capsized trimaran in such conditions was no easy matter, but nevertheless the tow was underway by 1705 and one of the othersurvivors was transferred to the lifeboat.

The skipper elected to remain with Mence and the diver on the upturned hull.

The tow progressed slowly towards the Needles with the three men clinging to the hull and crew member Mence in contact with the trapped survivor and with the coxswain by radio. The Y boat followed, in case anyone was washed off, anxiously watched by the coxswain who could see that crew member Hinton was having trouble preventing her from being flipped over by seas and wind.

It was dark as the vessels entered the most critical part of the passage - manoeuvring around the Needles light-house, avoiding being carried into Scratchells Bay and onto the beach, and in the roughest sea.

Passing the Needles without mishap the tow continued in slightly calmer water, but Alum Bay was still too rough and the lifeboat carried on into Totland Bay where she anchored at 1753.

Additional support had already been arranged and a diving team arrived on scene by helicopter at 1808.

An attempt to put Yarmouth's HMA aboard the lifeboat with the Y boat had to be abandoned when her outboard engine was damaged surfing onto the lee shore, so the doctor was lifted onto the lifeboat by helicopter.

The now four-strong diving team quickly got into action. A passage from the main hatch of the trimaran was cleared of wreckage and the survivor given a brief lesson in the use of breathing apparatus.

This done she was brought out at 1925 and was lifted by helicopter, with the HMA, and taken to hospital.

Soon after the 3 men who had been on the upturned hull for nearly 3 hours, were also lifted off, the yacht's skipper and crew member Mence being taken to the lifeboat.

Joy and John Wade continued the tow to Yarmouth, with the two remaining survivors aboard, and Triharda was eventually secured to the quay in Yarmouth at 2112..