Owners of demasted yacht thank Lerwick lifeboat for ‘swift and professional assistance’

THE OWNERS of a stricken yacht that suffered a mast breakage 27 miles east of Shetland on Saturday have expressed their “sincere gratitude” to the Lerwick lifeboat crew.

The 44-foot Windshift, with six crew on board, had left Lerwick harbour on Friday afternoon bound for Norway.

At around 3.15am the mast broke and Shetland Coastguard was alerted. The Lerwick lifeboat was at the scene just after 5am.

Two lifeboat crew came aboard to assist in cutting away the broken mast and rigging, then stood by as the yacht’s skipper brought Windshift back to Lerwick under her own engine power.

No one was injured in the incident, and the hull of the vessel appears to be largely undamaged.

Owners of the yacht, the De Zeezeilers van Marken sailing school in the Dutch port of Harlingen, said they were grateful for the “swift and professional assistance” provided by lifeboat coxswain Stephen Manson and his crew.

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“We are enormously grateful for the professionalism and care shown by the RNLI volunteers throughout,” the company’s chief principal Hans van der Berg said.

“As coxswain Manson noted, no one of the crew was hurt, and the RNLI’s swift response gave them the confidence to get safely back into harbour so repairs could begin.”

De Zeezeilers added they will launch their own investigation into the cause of the demasting.

“What is certain is that the Windshift’s standing rigging was fully renewed in January 2025, as part of De Zeezeilers’ regular maintenance protocol,” they added.

“A dismasting is always a highly stressful event for skipper and crew.

“As an official RYA training centre, we prepare our instructors and advanced students for exactly this kind of situation, and every trip begins with a thorough safety briefing that covers how to respond in the event of a demasting.”