Rescue teams were dispatched to rescue two cricket teams and a crowd of spectators at a traditional sporting event held on a tidal sandbank in the Solent.
The yearly cricket fixture between sailing clubs from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight took place on the Bramble Bank during Thursday morning's low tide.
As the tide turned and sea conditions deteriorated, multiple vessels encountered difficulties departing the exposed sandbank.
The RNLI reported that rescue operations were required for boats experiencing mechanical problems and crews struggling in increasingly rough waters.
Rescue crews responded to two vessels in particular distress as weather conditions rapidly shifted.
One rigid inflatable boat became completely waterlogged and lost all engine power, whilst another found itself unable to lift its anchor from the seabed.
The maritime conditions transformed quickly, bringing powerful, frigid winds and turbulent waters across the Solent.
Numerous rigid inflatable boats faced challenges escaping the sandbank whilst their occupants frantically removed water from the vessels.
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Rescue crews responded to two vessels in particular distress as weather conditions rapidly shifted
|RNLI
The combination of incoming tide and deteriorating weather created hazardous circumstances for the small craft attempting to navigate away from the exposed bank.
RNLI personnel entered the turbulent waters up to their waists, physically supporting a completely flooded rigid inflatable boat that had suffered mechanical failure.
The rescue teams worked urgently to stabilise the vessel in the rough seas.
During the cricket match, one participant experienced respiratory distress, believed to be an asthma episode.
The yearly cricket fixture between sailing clubs from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight took place on the Bramble Bank during Thursday morning's low tide
|PA
Maritime rescue services transported the affected individual via lifeboat to Cowes for medical attention.
The incident also involved a person being treated for hypothermia symptoms alongside breathing complications, according to RNLI reports.
The rescue operation required swift action as multiple vessels and their occupants faced increasing danger from the changing maritime conditions.
Calshot RNLI reported that their team successfully repositioned both distressed vessels and removed them from the sandbank.
The service said: "The crew managed to get both RIBs in a better position and off the bank and with that, were quickly picked up by the [Calshot inshore lifeboat] crew out of the water and into the safety of the lifeboat."
Libby Finch, who helmed the Cowes lifeboat, commented on the demanding circumstances.
She said: "Conditions were tricky out on the Solent, with a quick shift in weather which brought strong, cold winds and lumpy seas."
The RNLI characterised the rescue operation as an "eventful" chapter in what they described as a "unique and traditional calendar event."
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