A thirty foot long yacht this evening sailed straight on to Brixham Breakwater to the amazement of several people who were out for a stroll in the fine weather.

Two members of the public, realising that there was obviously something wrong, slithered down the steep seaward side of the Victorian Breakwater and boarded the yacht. An other bystander telephoned the Coastguard to summon help from the RNLI Torbay Lifeboat, which was stationed less than half a mile away.

To their surprise, the two members of the public found the skipper of the yacht asleep in the cockpit! When they woke him, he was apparently a little the worse for wear, having consumed a little too much alcohol.

The RNLI Inshore Lifeboat was the first on scene and gave assistance to the two helpers and the drunken skipper. Meanwhile, the training boat Endeavour arrived and towed the stricken yacht off the breakwater whilst the Lifeboat crew inspected the yacht for damage. The Torbay RNLI all weather Severn Class Lifeboat then arrived to take charge of the situation & towed the yacht into Brixham marina, with the Coastguards greeting the yachts skipper with some pertinent advice.

Just as the Inshore Lifeboat was about to return to station, another request was phoned through to the Coastguard, a small fifteen foot dinghy with five on board appeared to be in trouble just off Battery point, Brixham. The ILB was soon on scene only to find a sixteen year old local youth in charge, with four twelve year olds, two of whom were girls,on board.

They had No Life-jackets, No Flares, No VHF Radio & No Paddles. The engine had broken down and they were drifting out to sea. Apparently, the youth had banned the girls from dialing 999 on their mobile as he knew that he would be in trouble! They were towed into the inner harbour where they too were “given advice” by the Coastguard.

What a day. Both of these incidents thankfully ended without injury, but both could have ended in disaster. Anyone who takes to sea in a boat whether it’s a small dinghy or a yacht really should be prepared, both of these skippers should have known better.