Lifeboat assisted tall ship in gale force winds

The Eastbourne lifeboat crew was called out in gale force winds at midnight on Oct 4, 2017, to help the "Lady of Avenel" which was in trouble off Sovereign Harbour. The ship which had set sail from Poole in Dorset, had dropped anchor off Langney Point to deal with an engine failure when the anchor began dragging, putting the ship in danger of hitting rocks. The wind forecast was set to increase to gale force, so the skipper requested support from the Coastguard and Eastbourne’s all-weather lifeboat "Diamond Jubilee" was sent out. Coxswain Mark Sawyer manoeuvred the lifeboat to take the strain off the anchor chains. The combined length of the ship and the lifeboat was bigger than the harbour locks, so the team decided to temporarily moor the ship at the permanent buoys outside the harbour. After more than two hours of tense and strenuous work, the brigantine square rigger was eventually made safe on the lifeboat moorings.