On 4th July, Officers on board HMC Sentinel found a 40-foot sailing vessel in distress. It was in the area of Sandy Bay heading towards the rocks due to the high winds. The sloop in question had lost its steering, could not lower its sail and could not lift its anchor. A large multiagency operation to rescue the vessel ensued, which included the GDP, a Royal Navy RHIB, HMC Sentinel and HMC Tango 3 training vessel.

A statement from HM Customs follows below:

On 4 July 2022 at approximately 1820hrs, HM Customs Marine Officers received a call via the Interops channel stating that two juveniles on a kayak, in the area of Catalan Bay,  were having trouble returning to shore. On arrival, officers found that the Lifeguards had  managed to rescue the two individuals who had jumped into the sea. Upon seeing this,  Officers then proceeded to search for and retrieve the kayak. 

Later that evening, at approximately 1900hrs, whilst returning to base, Officers on board  HMC Sentinel found a 40-foot sailing vessel in distress, a male and female were on board.  It was in the area of Sandy Bay heading towards the rocks due to the high winds. The sloop  in question had lost its steering, could not lower its sail and could not lift its anchor.  Initially, HM Custom’s officers boarded the sloop and had to cut loose of their anchor and  assisted with the sail by climbing the mast and readjusting it, this enabled the necessary  manoeuvring capabilities and were able to tow the sloop away from the rocks to a safe  distance. A large multiagency operation to rescue the vessel ensued. This included the  Gibraltar Defence Police, a Royal Navy RHIB, HMC Sentinel and HMC Tango 3 training  vessel. Since the sailing vessel’s destination was a Spanish marina, the Spanish Aduanas  (SVA) was contacted and upon their arrival, the vessel was towed into the port of  Algeciras.