9:38am Saturday 23rd August 2008
By Duncan Eaton
IT was definitely enough to give them that sinking feeling.
For before their very eyes they saw a luxury speedboat which they had been hired to deliver from Southampton to Ireland slowly disappear under the waves.
Today the £200,000 Sealine 37, which had been imported to the UK from America, was lying at the bottom of Davy Jones' locker.
The two delivery men had made a fuel stop at Falmouth, Cornwall, but minutes later disaster struck when the boat crashed into sharp rocks at Zone Point near St Anthony's Head, close to the entrance to Falmouth Harbour.
The red-faced pair were able to leap to safety on nearby rocks.
They could only watch as the top-of-therange powerboat, complete with its power sunroof, bathing platform and LCD televisions, slowly disappeared under the waves.
Lifeboat crews and Falmouth Coastguard launched an immediate rescue operation.
A RNLI spokesman said: "The motor launch was travelling from Southampton to Falmouth where she was due to refuel before setting off on the second leg of her delivery journey.
"There were two people in the crew, one of whom was down below taking a rest when the vessel struck the rocks at an estimated speed of 15-16 knots.
"The impact caused a split in the hull and she started to take in water."
The lifeboats arrived on the scene within minutes and the two very shaken deliverymen were transferred to the all-weather lifeboat, where they were comforted and checked for any injuries.
The RNLI spokesman said: "Apart from some minor cuts and bruises received at impact both were fit and well but much shaken up and shocked."
Lifeboat crews tried to tow the crippled craft towards the shore where she could be safely beached.
Sadly it was a lost cause. The 36ft speedboat was so full of water that it had to be abandoned.
The RNLI spokesman added: "The motor launch then sank from view."
A spokesman for the Falmouth Lifeboat station said they were not sure how the speedboat hit the rocks.
After the rescue the deliverymen drifted back to Southampton with a lot of explaining to do.
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