The owners of a tall ship stranded on Ramsey’s south beach are racing against time to refloat the vessel before tides fall too low.

The schooner La Malouine, a twin-masted French brigantine registered in Dumfries, had been anchored in Ramsey Bay overnight.

However, it broke anchor and ended up on the beach between the arches and Queen’s Pier.

Joint owner and skipper John Kerr, who lives in Ramsey, said: ‘Last night, La Malouine broke anchor in the easterly winds in Ramsey Bay. She is currently beached between Ballure Promenade and what is known as “the arches” in Ramsey.

‘My crewmate Clint and I were in attendance at first light as part of the scheduled shore-based watch duties we have in place to monitor La Malouine, as it was not safe to return to the vessel given the conditions.’

John said his father previously owned La Malouine but died earlier this year, with ownership passing to him and his sister.

He brought the vessel to the Island on Sunday, but as there was no space in Ramsey harbour it had been anchored in the bay.

He said there is now only a small window to refloat the vessel, otherwise it could remain there for almost a month unless further help is secured.

He explained: ‘We will be attempting a refloat of La Malouine on this afternoon’s (Wednesday’s) high tide and will also try to recover the chain and anchor when conditions allow.

‘We hope we can refloat her this afternoon and we have a slightly higher tide in the early hours of Thursday. We hope we may be able to involve the lifeboat in an exercise.

‘If we aren’t successful then we will look at bringing in a towing company and we also know the Queen’s Pier Restoration Trust has a telehandler which we could potentially use.

‘Otherwise, the next equivalent tide will not be until May 16.

‘The vessel has taken a bit of a pounding from the waves but she is made of steel so she is relatively sturdy.

‘In the meantime, and for safety reasons, we would appreciate that no one attempts to board or climb onto La Malouine, or interfere with the ship.’

‘In the meantime and for safety reasons, we would appreciate that no one attempts to board or climb onto La Malouine, or interfere with the ship.’