A lifeboat rescued four people stranded on a yacht with a broken mast, and a crew with a fouled propeller.

An all-weather lifeboat was tasked to assist a 33’ yacht which had declared a Mayday off Swanage at 2.31pm yesterday.

The yacht’s mast had crashed down when a deck fitting failed and the four people on board needed help.

The mast was described as hanging over the side of the yacht with lines of rope and wire in the water.

The Swanage lifeboat arrived at the scene fifteen minutes after its crew was alerted, though a tug had also responded to the Mayday and arrived on the scene shortly before the lifeboat.

Two lifeboat crew members went on board the yacht with some wire cutters and tried to recover the mast and get it back on board, however, it became clear after a short while that the mast would not be possible to recover, so all the rigging wires and ropes were cut away, leaving the mast to sink.

The yacht was taken in tow back to Swanage and, once in the safety of Swanage Bay, the yacht’s engine and steering were tested and found to be working, despite fears that the boat’s rigging had damaged the propeller.

The yacht was then taken to the RNLI mooring and secured.

While this was being done, the lifeboat crew had another call from a motor boat at the Northern end of Swanage Bay.

The crew on board had reportedly fouled their propeller and although they were at anchor they had no means of getting help.

The Swanage lifeboat went out to assist the stranded crew and pulled up alongside the boat.

The lifeboat’s towline was passed across to the stranded boat and the boat was towed to Swanage Pier where it was hoped a diver would clear their propeller.

The lifeboat then went back to the mooring to recover the two lifeboat crew and four people from the yacht who had been rescued earlier.

None of the four people on board suffered any injuries.