TWO yachts had to be rescued on Sunday, one after it hit a submarine barrier.

Gosport & Fareham Inshore Rescue Service (GAFIRS) were deployed to two separate incidents involving stranded yachts.

The four hour operation first saw them scrambled to a 33ft Yacht that run aground on a sand bank on Ryde Sands.

They called 999 around 4pm on the Sunday as they were listing at a 45-degree angle.

A GAFIRS crew member went to investigate and found they were safe and happy to wait until the tide came in to refloat themselves.
While the crew was dealing with the stricken yacht, a second emergency call came in to after a French yacht hit the submarine barrier off Southsea and issued a Mayday distress call.

The Gosport lifeboat was on the scene within minutes and placed a member of crew on the casualty vessel, which had two people on board and had sailed across the Channel from France.

GAFIRS coxswain Brian Pack said: "The yacht lost steering after hitting the barrier and was in a precarious place. 

"We quickly towed the vessel to safer water and then on to Haslar Marina in Portsmouth Harbour."

Once the French vessel was safely dealt with the crew went back to the stranded yacht in Ryde and towed off of the sand bank once the tide rose.