TWO people had to be rescued after their yacht suffered a “catastrophic equipment failure” while five miles out at sea.

The 38 foot yacht lost its mast near Littlehampton on Friday and had to be rescued RNLI’s B Class lifeboat Renee Sherman.

Littlehampton RNLI said the boat was towed back the harbour and those on board were “shaken”, but not injured.

Lifeboat helm, Ivan Greer, said: “Although the winds were not particularly strong, the mast of the yacht appeared to have detached from its mounting on the deck.

“We quickly assessed the damage to the vessel, ensuring that it was not taking on water, in preparation for putting the yacht on tow.

“By the time we were underway the tide had moved both vessels a further two miles to the east meaning the tow back to Littlehampton took about an hour.

“The shore crew were waiting at the boathouse to recover the lifeboat and ready it for service – it’s important to remember there are many people behind the scenes which enabled us to rescue this vessel and her crew today.”

HM Coastguard tasked the RNLI to help the yacht which had suffered a “catastrophic equipment failure”, the loss of its mast, despite a relatively moderate wind.

The volunteer lifeboat crews are not currently undertaking water based training due to coronavirus restrictions, but in an emergency they are still available at all times to save lives at sea.

Skies were clear, but visibility was limited due to haze, the RNLI said.

The four crew on the lifeboat arrived on the scene to find that the two people on the vessel had cut away the rigging to jettison the mast.

The yacht’s crew were checked and found to be uninjured, but they were “shaken” by their experience and “very grateful to have the RNLI charity’s willing team there to help”.