Guernsey Coastguard coordinated the rescue of a sailing yacht experiencing severe rigging failure and communication difficulties east of Guernsey this afternoon.

At 3:53 p.m., Guernsey Coastguard was alerted to the 11 metre sailing vessel Sovereign, which had suffered a broken mast approximately 12 nautical miles South West of Guernsey. Initial VHF communications with the casualty vessel were heavily broken and intermittent. Guernsey Coastguard established telephone contact with the crew, who confirmed that the yacht was completely dismasted with six people on board.

Given the vessel’s rigging failure and the challenging communication dropouts, Guernsey Coastguard immediately tasked the St Peter Port RNLI All-Weather Lifeboat to launch. A PAN PAN urgency broadcast was also transmitted to alert any nearby vessels to the casualty’s position, though no other vessels were in the immediate vicinity at the time.

While the lifeboat was en route, the yacht’s crew successfully managed to recover the collapsed rigging and mast safely onto the deck and confirmed that the hull had sustained no damage. Fortunately, all six occupants remained fit and well with no injuries reported.

The St Peter Port Lifeboat arrived on scene, established clear communications with the Sovereign, and safely escorted the vessel and its crew back to port.