Former royal yacht rescued by lifeboat crew

A 1930s yacht that was used to teach King Charles III how to sail was rescued by a lifeboat crew after taking on water.

Caister Lifeboat was called by HM Coastguard to attend to a 63ft (19.2 metre) vessel near Bacton, Norfolk, on Sunday.

The yacht, called Bloodhound, was built for US huntsman Isaac Bell in 1936 and was bought by Elizabeth II and Prince Philip in 1962.

Paul Garrod, the chairman of Caister Lifeboat, said: "We found out she was a very, very historic yacht. It was a great job for Caister Lifeboat."

The former racing yacht had been sailing from Leith in Edinburgh, Scotland, to the south coast for sea trials.

Mr Garrod said the boat was towed to Great Yarmouth, where its crew was put up in a hotel overnight.

However, the skipper chose to stay on-board the yacht during the night.

Mr Garrod said: "[The Bloodhound] is a lovely looking yacht, beautiful and well maintained... she is the most beautiful thing I ever did see."

He said it was "great" to have been involved with the rescue of such a historic boat.

The boat was bought by The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust in 2010 and has been berthed in Edinburgh as a tourist attraction.

It was previously used by the Royal Family on holidays in the Western Isles and was used by King Charles and Princess Anne to learn how to sail.

The Royal Britannia Trust said Bloodhound is one of the most successful ocean racing yachts and competed across the Atlantic, including sailing to Bermuda.

Franck Bruyere, the chief executive of The Royal Yacht Britannia Trust, said while the boat was previously used for racing it had not been entered into a competition for decades.

He said: "Bloodhound is safe. She has been receiving a lot of good care from the crew and the crew is very experienced.

"Pleased to report that at the moment, conditional to further sea trails, the intention is for Bloodhound to sail further down south this evening [Tuesday]."

The boat, which has been used for grassroots sailing, will eventually continue its journey for it to be restored.

"She used to race... she used to sail around. For us there is nothing better than bringing her back to her former glory," he said.

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