Search halted as yacht crew safe

A Sea King helicopter was called from RAF Chivenor

A sea search which began after a yacht was found beached off Pembrokeshire has been halted, as it is no longer thought the vessel had been stolen overnight.

Milford Haven Coastguard said the alert was raised after the 17ft (5m) vessel, Eos, was found off Newport.

It emerged the two owners had spent the night at a Fishguard bed-and-breakfast.

At first it was thought one of the boat's life jackets was missing, prompting fears the yacht was taken by someone who had then fallen overboard.

But the life jacket was later found, and tide calculations by search teams in Fishguard harbour suggest the vessel, Eos, could have ended up at Dinas Head if it had slipped its moorings.

An RAF rescue helicopter, Fishguard lifeboat and coastguard shore teams took part in the search and police had been called to establish whether the yacht had been stolen.

The Moylegrove Coastguard Rescue Team found the vessel with its outboard engine down and throttle open but no-one onboard.

'Adrift'

The owners inspected the vessel and concluded the vessel could have been stolen.

While a second short search was held, the mooring and buoys at Fishguard Harbour were inspected.

The owners and coastguard teams then agreed it seemed unlikely that the vessel had been stolen and that it was more probable that it had slipped its moorings and drifted round to Newport Sands, where it beached.

A coastguard spokeswoman said: "The vessel was found adrift this morning and we have established that it was left in Fishguard but was found in Newport.

"The owners were safe ashore and had stayed overnight in a B&B."