Spirit of Guernsey in dry dock after damage
AN ASSESSMENT is taking place of the damage caused to the St Peter Port lifeboat last week.
The Spirit of Guernsey was taken out of service after it struck a submerged rock during an operation to rescue a fisherman on Thursday.
The fisherman’s boat had sunk and he had swum to rocks off Herm.
While the lifeboat itself was unable to get close due to the rocks and had asked for the inshore lifeboat to assist, a severe squall blew across the area and The Spirit of Guernsey’s port quarter struck one of the many submerged rocks in the area.
The lifeboat continued on one engine, later spotting the fisherman, who was rescued by an HM Coastguard helicopter.
After an underwater inspection it was confirmed that damage had been caused to the lifeboat’s port skeg and propeller and it was decided to take it out of service.
Yesterday the lifeboat was in dry dock at Marine & General Engineers, where the damage was being assessed pending repairs.
While The Spirit of Guernsey is out of the water, it is being covered on station by the RNLB Fraser Flyer.
An RNLI surveyor will arrive from the UK to check the boat, and to ensure it is seaworthy enough for it to travel to the UK for repairs.
