Waves stop play - and an apt destination Minehead's D class lifeboat carried out a service on 23 July which saved two people and their yacht in difficult condition, but which was somewhat overshadowed in press reports by the interruption of their cricket match and the subsequent destination of the survivors! The crew were indeed in the middle of a cricket match when their pagers went off and they were called to the aid of Tumbleweed, a 21ft yacht aground on nearby Warren Point, in an onshore wind up to Force 5.

After the first attempt to tow her off failed the inflatable went in again, with waves breaking over both Tumbieweedand lifeboat, and two of her crew members went into the water and managed to get the yacht's head into the wind and reconnect the tow. For about ten minutes they held this position, with the lifeboat's prop occasionally hitting the stony bottom and the yacht bumping heavily. But at last a bigger wave lifted her and she began to move, with the two lifeboat crew scrambling aboard.

There was not enough water in Minehead harbour and with the female yacht crew member looking very pale she was taken ashore while the yacht was anchored, with a lifeboatman aboard, to wait for enough water.

It was only after landing that the lifeboat crew realised that they had three stumps instead of blades on the prop! It was changed immediately and as soon as there was enough water in the harbour Tumble weed started her engine and came in, escorted by the lifeboatand justasdarknessfell.

The yacht skipper was re-united with his wife in the boathouse, to find she'd booked a room ashore - in the 'Old Ship Aground'!.