A freelance photographer, was thrown into the sea today when his 16 foot RIB was in collision with a large yacht off Newtown, and eventually brought into Cowes by the local RNLI lifeboat.
The photographer had apparently maneuvered his borrowed RIB, Fletch, close to the Cowes Week racer, The Sisterhood, to get what he explained was an ‘under bow shot’. But he failed to get out of the way in time; the 41 foot yacht ploughed into the starboard quarter, tipping him into the water, puncturing a section of sponson and buckling the metal A-frame.
Unhurt but clearly shaken by the experience, the man managed to climb back into the RIB which still had sufficient buoyancy despite the damage. His camera, too, appeared to survive the incident.
The RIB was initially taken in tow by a race committee boat until the arrival of Cowes lifeboat, helmed by Scott Armiger. The man transferred to the lifeboat, after which his damaged RIB was towed back to a commercial yard at Cowes.
The crew of the yacht, comprising eleven women and one man, continued to race following the collision, after being assured the man had suffered no physical injury. And back at Cowes later they were to have a friendly meeting with the ill-fated photographer .
Image Courtesy Cowes RNLI: The photographer aboard his semi-waterlogged RIB Fletch. Also pictured is one of the four lifeboat crew, Andrea Vaughan.
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