DASSEN ISLAND – Yacht runs aground:

At 19h45 on Wednesday the 15th of May, NSRI Yzerfontein duty crew were called out following an urgent request for assistance from a 37.5 foot unnamed luxury yacht reporting to be running aground on Dassen Island.Rudi Rogers, NSRI Yzerfontein station commander, said: 'The yacht was being delivered from Cape Town to Fort Lauderdale in the United States with a male skipper and two crew (a man and a woman), all of whom are from Cape Town. While preparing to set anchor at Dassen Island, the anchor was fouled amongst quota crayfish traps causing the yacht to drift onto rocks in the 2 meter swell and dense fog.'The skipper raised the alarm by contacting Maritime Radio Services on the VHF emergency radio frequency.'Our NSRI Yzerfontein volunteers launched Rotary Onwards and responded. On arriving on-scene, in the dense fog conditions, (dark with no moon), they found the yacht hard aground on rocks at House Bay. It had washed onto the eastern arm on the northern side of Dassen Island. All 3 crew onboard were unharmed. We attempted to get the three crew off the yacht from the sea side but after these attempts proved hazardous we moored our sea rescue boat at the jetty and walked to where the yacht was hard aground on rocks. We rigged a rope and pulley system and rescued the 3 crew one by one by assisting them off the boat over the rocks to safety.'No one was injured.'We have tied the yacht to the shore to prevent her from being washed out to sea overnight and the owners of the yacht will investigate salvage options today (Thursday, 16th May).'The skipper stayed on the island overnight and the two crew returned to Yzerfontein on our sea rescue craft and have made arrangements to return to Cape Town.' Rotary Onwards