A charter-fishing vessel had to be rescued earlier today after it suffered total gearbox failure.
The 35-foot boat, with 12 people on board, was drifting five miles south of Sovereign Harbour when its captain called Dover Coastguard for assistance.
Volunteers of the
Eastbourne RNLI all-weather lifeboat were alerted to the situation and launched to rendezvous with the stricken vessel at 10am.
The lifeboat crew located the boat, six and a half miles south east of Sovereign Harbour.
Once alongside the casualty vessel, Mark Sawyer, coxswain of the all-weather lifeboat, the Royal Thames, decided the only course of action was to tow the boat and its crew into Sovereign Harbour.
A towrope was passed and the boat arrived back at the Eastbourne marina just before noon.
