Solo Sailor Winched From Lizard Cliffs After Seven-Hour Rescue

It took more than seven hours, three coastguard rescue teams, a lifeboat and a search and rescue helicopter to get one sailor off the Lizard cliffs on Thursday morning. The skipper had been sailing alone when their yacht ran hard aground on the Lizard Peninsula, leaving them stranded in a spot the rescue teams have decided to keep secret.

A hasty search in poor visibility

The alarm went up at 7:16am on Thursday 18 June, when multiple coastguard rescue teams were tasked to find a solo manned yacht well aground on the Lizard. Mullion Coastguard Rescue Team led the response, backed up by Porthoustock Coastguard Rescue Team and Porthleven Coastguard Team.

Officers carried out a hasty search and found the stricken vessel quickly. The solo skipper was understood to be unharmed. But poor visibility meant the teams could not see the casualty at first, and the cliff terrain in the area was so difficult that access was severely restricted.

After some time the teams managed to get eyes on the sailor. By then it was clear that a technical rescue from the cliff top was not going to be possible.

📷Credit: Mullion Coastguard Rescue Team

The lifeboat could not reach them

The Lizard RNLI Lifeboat arrived on scene and was able to confirm the sailor was safe and uninjured. The rough sea state, though, ruled out any recovery by lifeboat.

So both the coastguard rescue teams and the Lizard lifeboat stood by, keeping watch on the casualty while they worked out a viable and safe way to get them off the cliffs.

Winched to safety by Rescue 924

The answer came from the air. In low visibility weather conditions, Coastguard Rescue Helicopter 924 was tasked to the scene and successfully winched the casualty to safety.

The whole operation ran for over seven hours, with significant disruption to the working days of the officers involved. In its account of the rescue, Mullion Coastguard Rescue Team praised the teamwork across the coastguard teams, the duty senior officer S11C, the RNLI crew and the Rescue 924 crew for bringing what it called a tricky shout to a safe conclusion. The team singled out the helicopter crew for taking on the winch in such poor weather.

Why the location is being kept quiet

The exact spot is being kept confidential, and the teams are asking people not to go looking for it. The cliffs and sea state where the yacht ran aground remain highly dangerous, and the coastguard has warned against any attempt to locate or access the vessel.

📷Credit: Mullion Coastguard Rescue Team