Lowestoft Lifeboat was called out in the early hours of this morning (Sunday) to aid a stranded Dutch yacht, which had got into difficulties in the midst of a 'dramatic electrical storm.'
The RNLI Lowestoft Lifeboat, Patsy Knight, launched at 3.47am following reports that the Dutch yacht was stranded.
With the volunteer lifeboat crew launching to aid the 12-metre Dutch yacht – Chableu – which was on passage from the port city of Ijmuiden in the Dutch province of North Holland, Lowestoft Lifeboat coxswain John Fox said: 'There was a dramatic electrical storm all around with lightning illuminating the night sky as we headed for the broken down vessel, which was 18 miles east of Lowestoft.
'When we reached the yacht, the three man crew told us that their engine had failed and that there was insufficient wind to make headway under sail. 'Our volunteer crew soon had a tow line connected and it then took us about three hours to bring the vessel back to Lowestoft and to moor her in the yacht basin.'
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