The Sagres lifeboat crew went to the aid of a 10-metre yacht with four French crew members on board. The vessel was about 5 miles south of Sagres when its skipper radioed for help as the engine had packed up.
Attempts to use the yacht’s sails to navigate to the safety of a port was not possible as there was hardly a breath of wind on the morning of November 25th.
The Sagres lifeboat was sent out to help and towed the yacht to the port of Baleeira in Sagres where it docked at around 1pm.
Over in Olhão, the lifeboat was used to relocate a Belgian yacht that has been moored in a busy channel and then abandoned.
The yacht had been spotted by the Maritime Police in the Ria Formosa near the shellfish nurseries off Culatra Island in the middle of a busy sea lane.
Officers climbed aboard the vessel, weighed anchor and took the yacht to a safe anchorage out of the way of trouble.
The Maritime Authority advised that "this type of situation increases in the winter period due to the abandonment of yachts by foreign owners when they return to their native countries."
The Authority reminded owners that the person responsible for a vessel should update the local port captain’s office with contact details, especially if they are going to be away for more than a week.