The Lifeboat crew were paged at 9.28 p.m. on Saturday 16th May 2015. The 29-foot yacht 'Ventus' had snagged a fishing pot line 6.75 miles south south east of Selsey Bill.
The three crew of the 'Ventus' had tried unsuccessfully to free the line and Solent Coastguard requested the Selsey all-weather Lifeboat to launch to assist them. The Tyne class Lifeboat 'Voluntary Worker' launched at 9.38 p.m. with a crew of seven and was on scene with the yacht by 10.04 p.m.
The weather conditions on scene were wind NW 3-4 with a moderate sea state in clear skies. The decision was made to pass the Lifeboat's long handled knife and the grapnel to the yacht and let the crew try to free it themselves, which they did at 10.26 p.m.
After checking that the 'Ventus' had power and steering the yacht continued its passage to the west, escorted by the Lifeboat in case damage had resulted by water ingress. After approximately 5 miles the Lifeboat's equipment was passed back and at 11.38 p.m. the Lifeboat was released by Solent Coastguard. 'Voluntary Worker' returned to Selsey and was rehoused at 1.35 a.m. on the 17th May.
CREW: Willy Pledger (Coxswain), Geoff Mellett (2nd Coxswain), Phil Pitham (Mechanic), Gary Pearce, John Reeves, Dan Langford, and Pip Skeet.