A stricken yacht had to be towed back into Port St Mary by lifeboat crews after losing power off the Calf of Man.

The Port St Mary all-weather lifeboat Henry Heys Duckworth was launched on Thursday at 4.26pm after the Coastguard received a mayday call from an 11m yacht, three miles west of the Calf of Man with two people onboard.

The Henry Heys Duckworth with volunteer crew launched at shortly after with fair weather conditions and good visibility.

A spokesman for the RNLI said: ‘The lifeboat soon located the vessel using their radar.

‘The crew assessed that those aboard yacht were not injured and resolved that a tow was necessary, as the yacht had lost power due to overheating and the bilges were filling with hydraulic fluid.

‘The yacht was on passage from Bangor, Northern Ireland to Port St Mary. A tow was established at 5.30pm and coxswain Morgan Guy decided to proceed to Port St Mary, where the casualty vessel was safely moored alongside on the breakwater at 6.35pm where it was handed over to the care of the local coastguard rescue team.’

For Jane-Ann Thompson, this was her second shout since qualifying as a crew member.

Lifeboat operations manager Mike Teare said: ‘That the yacht’s crew had acted in a responsible way by sending out an alert initially, but having received no reply they were left with no alternative but to send out a mayday which is the most serious marine distress call.’

The lifeboat was refuelled and washed down and placed back on the mooring at 6.45pm and advised ready for the next shout by 7.20pm.