At 1747 on Thursday 29^th August 2019, Guernsey Coastguard received a call regarding a 22ft motor vessel experiencing engine trouble 6 miles northeast of Sark. The vessel had one person on board and was struggling to make progress back to Guernsey due to a fuel supply issue. Attempts by Guernsey Coastguard to gain assistance from other vessels in the area failed. With the tide running fast to the north in the Big Russel and with less than 2 hours to go to sunset, St Peter Port All Weather Lifeboat (ALB) was launched at 1845 to locate and assist the casualty vessel arriving on scene at 1910. A lifeboat crew member was transferred to the vessel and a tow was established. The lifeboat and casualty arrived safely back in St Peter Port at 2030.

Meanwhile, at around 1930 Guernsey Coastguard took a 999 call from the skipper of an 18ft motor vessel that had run out of fuel near Platte Beacon northeast of the entrance to St Sampson’s Harbour. She was unable to anchor and was drifting quickly with the tide. After establishing that the vessel was standing into danger, St Peter Port Inshore Lifeboat (ILB) was paged and a MAYDAY Relay message was broadcast. 2 vessels in the area responded and proceeded quickly to the scene. Despite difficult conditions in the overfalls north of Platte Beacon, a towline was connected and the vessel was towed away from danger. The ILB was stood down and the vessel arrived safely back in St Sampson’s Harbour at 2030. Paramedics met the vessel on arrival and checked both crew over.

Following the 2 incidents, Guernsey Coastguard asks that all boat owners make sure that boat they and their vessel are fit to go to sea. Duty SAR Mission Coordinator James Way said “it is imperative that vessels are completely seaworthy and have all the necessary safety and communications equipment on board. It is equally important that skippers know how to operate all of the equipment carried and that they have the appropriate experience to safely navigate our challenging local waters”.

At 0620 on Wednesday 21^st August 2019, Guernsey Coastguard received a PAN PAN call from 35ft yacht “Dabbler” with 3 persons onboard reporting engine failure approximately 3 miles north west of Lihou Island. The vessel was in no immediate danger however, she was making slow progress under sail due to light winds and was concerned about her ability to berth without an engine on arrival in St Peter Port.

Dabbler was asked to contact Guernsey Coastguard every 30 minutes with a progress update however, after an hour, she had failed to check in. Subsequent calls to the vessel failed and given the fact that the tide was shortly due to turn to the north, St Peter Port All Weather Lifeboat “Spirit of Guernsey” was launched at 0815 to locate the yacht.

Search plans were prepared by Guernsey Coastguard however, once in the vicinity of the Hanois Lighthouse, Spirit of Guernsey was able to quickly locate the vessel. She had made better progress under sail than anticipated and communications were reestablished with the Coastguard. Once everything was confirmed to be OK onboard, the Lifeboat was stood down and Dabbler continued under sail to St Peter Port.

At 1505 on Sunday 11^th August 2019, Guernsey Coastguard received a call from 38ft Alderney registered angling vessel “Avante” with 7 persons onboard asking for assistance. Avante was 7 miles northeast of Guernsey and had shut down her single engine due to it overheating.

Guernsey Coastguard made a broadcast requesting assistance from vessels in the area however no response was received. St Peter Port All Weather Lifeboat “Spirit of Guernsey” launched at 1533 and proceeded to the casualty vessel arriving on scene at 1548.

Avante had restarted her engine and was making slow progress south towards St Peter Port. Spirit of Guernsey escorted her initially however, due to worsening sea conditions on the approach to Guernsey, a tow rope was attached and the lifeboat towed the vessel the remaining few miles arriving safely back in St Peter Port at 1630.