A 39 foot yacht which left Cowes on the evening of Wednesday, 25 April for Hayling Island was soon back in Cowes again, having been towed to Cowes Yacht Haven by the local RNLI lifeboat.

The Valinor, with six adults aboard, encountered a problem just outside Cowes Harbour when the jib sheet became entangled around the propeller. After dropping anchor off the Royal Yacht Squadron in a Force 8/9 southerly wind the crew informed Solent coastguards of their predicament.

Cowes lifeboat, with Patrick Moreton at the helm, was tasked to go to the yacht's aid just before 1800, and returned to station at Shepards Wharf Marina an hour later. The Valinor is based in Chichester Harbour.