Transatlantic sailor runs aground off Cornwall

Pip Hare's yacht ran aground in St Austell

British sailor Pip Hare has been assisted by a lifeboat after her yacht ran aground off Cornwall.

The round-the-world yachtswoman, from Poole, Dorset, was returning from a recent transatlantic race when her 60ft (18m) yacht Medallia grounded at St Austell at about 05:30 GMT, her team said.

Falmouth Coastguard said the yacht was successfully refloated by the RNLI.

Pip Hare Ocean Racing posted on social media that the sailor had continued on her way home after being refloated and in a later video post Ms Hare thanked Fowey RNLI and volunteer coastguards.

A post said on X: "After working with the brilliant volunteers at the Fowey RNLI and the coastguard, Pip is now back afloat and, after an initial risk assessment, is sailing home."

In a later video post on Facebook she thanked those who came to her help and said she wanted to reassure everyone that she was "fine and the boat is seaworthy".

She added she was "devastated" about the events in the morning and explained that she managed to "sleep through a lot of alarms and [yet] run aground off the coast of Cornwall".

She went on to say "as an individual and as a team we will unpack this later", adding she wanted to give a "massive thank you to both RNLI Fowey and the volunteer coastguard".

John Baxter, from Falmouth Coastguard, said the vessel had grounded on Black Rock as the tide was going out.

He said the recovery operation was a "good result" and the boat "wasn't damaged enough to stop it".

In 2021, Hare became only the eighth woman to finish the non-stop round-the-world Vendee Globe race.