The Coastguard received a mayday call from a small cabin cruiser on rocks off Millendreath yesterday afternoon.

After dropping off the rest of the group on the beach, the boat owner was attempting to anchor offshore when the cabin cruiser was caught by a large wave.

Looe lifeboat crew pagers sounded at 3.15 pm and within seven minutes the RNLI volunteers launched the charity’s Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat, Sheila and Dennis Tongue II.

Arriving on scene they found the boat swamped by water with one person on board. Due to the low tide a second crew launched the D Class inshore lifeboat Ollie Naismith to meet the Atlantic 85 off the Banjo Pier and bring the casualty back to the lifeboat station.

The D Class was relaunched to join the crew on the Atlantic 85, back at Millendreath, to get a tow line on the cabin cruiser. The craft was towed back to Looe river.

Looe Lifeboat helms Clive Palfrey and Toby Bray said the situation could have deteriorated very quickly, but for the prompt calls for assistance. They recommend always checking the weather forecast as the predicted easterly winds had developed during the afternoon increasing the swell and wave height close to shore.

Looe Coastguard team were also in attendance.