CALSHOT RNLI lifeboat went to the aid of three sailors hit by double trouble.

The three men were aboard a 25ft motorboat that twice ran into difficulties in rough conditions in the Solent this afternoon.

First an electrical fault put the engine out of action in a Force 7 north-westerly between East Cowes and Fishbourne.

Then the deployment of the boat’s two anchors failed to prevent the craft being driven closer to the rock-strewn shore.

A crew member alerted coastguards and the lifeboat’s station manager, Mark Southwell.

After launching at 2.15 pm the lifeboat was soon on the scene and towed the motorboat to Cowes Harbour. There it was given shelter by Shepards Marina, and the lifeboat returned to station at 3.25 pm.

It was the second tow-in performed by the lifeboat this week.

On Wednesday it went to the aid of a 30ft yacht that was struggling to make headway a mile west of Cowes.

Although the crew of the Calshot lifeboat first spotted the problem they decided that Cowes’ more powerful Atlantic 85 was best suited for the rescue. The yacht, on passage from Yarmouth to Cowes, was taken into Shepards Marina.

The Calshot and Cowes lifeboats were already afloat at the time of the emergency, undergoing training/assessment exercises.