Late night call to coastguard after stranded yacht spotted in thick fog off Scottish coast

The 12 metre yacht was found broken down drifting 22 miles off Scotland’s coastline.

A 12 metre broken down yacht was spotted drifting in thick fog off the country’s coastline.

Coastguard crew were called out to rescue the stricken Sally Belle yacht which was spotted at about 11.20pm yesterday evening (June 16) about 22 miles east of Torness.

Dunbar’s all-weather lifeboat (ALB) launched from Torness Power Station and reached the vessel shortly before 1am.

Coastguard crews assisting the Sally Belle yacht back to shore

A tow was quickly set up and the crew made their way back to Dunbar Harbour at about 5am, taking special care in poor visibility.

The yacht was guided to a safe berth and the ALB was returned to Torness where it was refuelled and made ready for service at 5.30am.

Gary Fairbairn, coxswain for Dunbar’s RNLI Lifeboat, said: “Given the fog conditions we couldn’t take any chances but we succeeded in towing the yacht to safety without incident.”