Angle’s Tamar lifeboat Mark Mason was paged at 10.56pm on Saturday night to assist a 12m Crabbing vessel with four people on board which had lost propulsion in The Smalls 18 miles off St Anne’s Head.
The lifeboat launched at 11.09pm and made best speed to their position arriving on scene at 12.20pm.
A tow line was passed and secured and a route planned back to Milford Haven, with moderate to sometimes rough seas and working against the tide it took four and a half hours to tow the casualty back into Milford and the lifeboat left the casualty at 4.55am.
The boathouse crew was paged and the lifeboat was back on the slip at 5.15am then washed down, refuelled and made ready for service before Coxswain Andy Elliot and his volunteer crew headed for their beds.
