The 37ft boat lost power and became stranded near Lavernock Point in the early hours, prompting a complex rescue operation involving RNLI crews from Penarth and Barry Dock.
Volunteers from Penarth RNLI were paged at 3.58am and launched both their lifeboats, while Barry Dock RNLI launched their all-weather lifeboat (ALB) to provide additional support.
The Penarth D-class lifeboat reached the grounded vessel first and evacuated the three people on board amid concerns about potential hull damage and water ingress as the tide rose.
Two crew members were taken to Penarth Lifeboat Station on the Atlantic 85 lifeboat, while the skipper remained aboard and was transferred to the Barry Dock ALB.
Once the vessel refloated with the tide, a crew member boarded to check for damage and water ingress.
Finding the boat to be watertight, the Barry Dock ALB began towing it toward Penarth.
As the tow continued, Penarth RNLI’s Atlantic 85 lifeboat relaunched to transfer the crew back onto the vessel and then took over the tow into Cardiff Barrage.
Both Penarth lifeboats returned to station and were ready for service by 8am.
Bill Kitchen, lifeboat operations manager at Barry Dock RNLI, said: “This was a good example of neighbouring lifeboat crews working together and using the different capabilities of our lifeboats to bring an incident to a safe conclusion.
“Once we arrived, our priority was to make sure everyone was safe.
“Two people were taken off the vessel and brought ashore, while the owner came aboard our all-weather lifeboat as we waited for the tide to rise sufficiently to refloat the vessel.
“Once it was afloat, one of our crew went aboard to carry out checks, including checking for any water ingress, before we took the vessel under tow towards Penarth.
“It was an early start for all of the volunteer crews, with the sun coming up while we were still towing, but most importantly everyone was brought safely ashore and the vessel was recovered.”
A spokesperson for RNLI Penarth Lifeboat Station added: “ Both our lifeboats were able to return to station and were rehoused and ready for service by 08.00am, while our crew returned home and prepared for the start of their working day.
“A long and tiring shout for all but a happy outcome, and great teamworking with our flank station”.
The RNLI has issued a reminder to anyone heading out on the water to always carry a reliable means of calling for help.
If you get into difficulty at sea or see someone else in trouble, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard.
