At 8.49pm on Sunday, May 31 it was the end of the day and the end of a busy week for the volunteer crews of the RNLI Salcombe lifeboats, but not quite with a request from the Coastguard to attend a Mayday call from a yacht experiencing hazardous weather and significant wave activity.

The vessel in distress was a 23-foot Westerly sailing yacht carrying two people en route to Plymouth.

The crew had been sailing continuously and encountered severe sea conditions near Bolt Tail, prompting concerns of capsizing because of the yacht's size relative to the turbulent environment.

On locating the vessel, it was determined that both individuals aboard were fatigued and unable to effectively steer under power, resulting in a lack of progress amid adverse circumstances. The yacht was subsequently taken under tow and safely escorted into Salcombe Harbour.

Following on from a busy half term week the Salcombe RNLI crews may have expected a slowing in the number of calls for assistance for the next week or two.

That was not to be on Tuesday, June 2 around midday and the All weather Lifeboat launched in response to a Mayday call from a 45-foot yacht with a jammed winch and fore sail between Bolt Head and Bolt Tail.

Onboard were two casualties suffering from sickness and exhaustion.

ALB crew members boarded the yacht, easing the pressure on the yachts crew, whilst the ALB escorted the vessel into Salcombe Harbour.

At 2pm on Wednesday, June 3, the Salcombe ALB again launched, this time to help a Yacht 4 nautical miles south of Bolt Tail experiencing difficulties having lost its mast.

The crew of the yacht were able to cut their rig away and head towards Salcombe under their own power, while being escorted by the ALB.