Two men rescued when yacht partially sinks after hitting rocks

RNLI: The men had to be rescued when their boat partially sunk.RNLI

Two men have been rescued after their yacht hit rocks and was partially sunk.

The 40ft catamaran collided with rocks to the south of Inchkeith Island, in the Firth of Forth, at around 9am on Thursday.

It sustained serious damage to the port hull which caused the vessel to partially sink.

The two men on board were unable to launch their on-board lifeboat because the pump they used to inflate it was trapped beneath the water.

The catamaran was returning to Granton from Anstruther when it hit rocks near the Little Herwit rock, south of Inchkeith.

The two people on board were rescued by Kinghorn RNLI crew with the help of a Forth Ports boat and crew.

Helmsman Keith Hay said: "When we arrived, the vessel was taking on a lot of water and the two casualties were preparing to abandon the catamaran.

"They had a dinghy with them. However, the pump to inflate it was out of reach in the part of the boat under water. Fortunately we were able to arrive soon after their distress call before they had to enter the water.

"The vessel was then towed to Granton, where it was secured in the harbour. Our towline parted at one point due to the weight and duration of the tow. However, we were quickly able to get the boat back under control.

"These men were lucky to be rescued as the Forth is still very cold at this time of year. I would always encourage people to use suitable current charts of the area and any other navigation aids available."

Captain Bob Baker, chief harbour master at Forth Ports Limited added: “A Forth Ports’ pilot boat supported the Kinghorn lifeboat service on Thursday at 9.20am at South of Inchkeith Island when the leisure yacht ‘Tabula-Rasa’ got into difficulty and starting taking on water. The yacht had listed significantly and the crew were transferred onto our pilot boat. Both the pilot boat and lifeboat have towed the yacht to Granton where all the crew were safely landed.”

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