Dramatic moment a £150,000 42ft yacht SINKS in the sea off Sandbanks

Dramatic moment a £150,000 42ft yacht SINKS in the sea off Sandbanks and couple are rescued by lifeboat after the vessel was swamped by water

  • Couple’s Fairline motor cruiser started taking on water in Poole Harbour, Dorset
  • They had to abandon ship and be rescued by crew who took them to yacht club
  • The crew then isolated vessel’s fuel to prevent pollution leaking into the harbour
  • At high tide it was almost completely submerged, with just the top cabin visible 

This is the dramatic moment a £150,000 yacht sinks in the sea off Sandbanks, sparking lifeboat crews into action to rescue a couple after the vessel became swamped by water. 

The owners were taking the 42ft Fairline motor cruiser called Harley towards a yacht club when it started taking on water in Poole Harbour, Dorset.

The couple had to abandon ship as the luxury vessel started to sink and were dramatically rescued by the Poole RNLI lifeboat which took them to the safety of Parkstone Yacht Club.

The lifeboat returned to the stricken vessel and the crew isolated the fuel to prevent pollution leaking into the harbour but were unable to refloat it and left it where it was.

At high tide the motor cruiser was almost completely submerged with just the top cabin visible above the water.

This is the dramatic moment a £150,000 yacht sinks in the sea off Sandbanks, sparking lifeboat crews into action to rescue a couple after the vessel became swamped by water

At high tide the motor cruiser was almost completely submerged with just the top cabin visible above the water

At high tide the motor cruiser was almost completely submerged with just the top cabin visible above the water

The owners were taking the 42ft Fairline motor cruiser called Harley towards a yacht club when it started taking on water in Poole Harbour, Dorset

The owners were taking the 42ft Fairline motor cruiser called Harley towards a yacht club when it started taking on water in Poole Harbour, Dorset

The incident happened at 5pm on Tuesday but the stricken vessel remains stranded in the harbour today. 

The couple left the area after being rescued and haven’t made any arrangements to recover the boat.

A Poole coastguard spokesman said: ‘We were tasked to carry out a welfare checks on two persons that had been recovered by RNLI Poole lifeboat from a vessel taking on water.

‘On arrival the individuals had been seen by members of the yacht club leaving the vicinity, so unfortunately no checks could be carried out.’

A spokesman for the Poole Harbour Master’s office said the motor cruiser would be seized later today to protect the wellbeing of other seafarers.

A spokesman for the nearby Salterns Marina said that the same boat was turned away from the marina last week because it didn’t have permission to moor and that the police were called.

An RNLI spokesman said: ‘The lifeboat volunteers were tasked to a 42ft Fairline with two people on board, that was taking on water in the vicinity of Parkstone Yacht Club.

‘The lifeboat was swiftly on scene, they discovered a boat at anchor, with its stern down.

The couple had to abandon ship as the luxury vessel started to sink and were dramatically rescued by the Poole RNLI lifeboat which took them to the safety of Parkstone Yacht Club

The couple had to abandon ship as the luxury vessel started to sink and were dramatically rescued by the Poole RNLI lifeboat which took them to the safety of Parkstone Yacht Club

The lifeboat returned to the stricken vessel and the crew isolated the fuel to prevent pollution leaking into the harbour but were unable to refloat it and left it where it was

The lifeboat returned to the stricken vessel and the crew isolated the fuel to prevent pollution leaking into the harbour but were unable to refloat it and left it where it was

‘The lifeboat checked that the two casualties were okay and swiftly transferred them off the stricken vessel and took them ashore to Parkstone Yacht Club as there was a real concern that the vessel was going to go down.

‘Once the casualties were safely ashore, the lifeboat returned to their vessel and isolated the fuel, the vessel was too far in the water and taking on water, to doing anything further.

‘The lifeboat informed the coastguard of the vessel’s perilous predicament, and the coastguard will liaise with Harbour Control to decide on any further appropriate action.’

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