About 11.30am on Monday 17 November Shoalhaven Marine Rescue received a call from the yacht “Coota-Tar” which was taking on water and in danger of foundering 2 nautical miles east of Beecroft Peninsula. The two man crew of the timber yacht were able to raise the alarm before the water submerged the engine and battery of the vessel. Shoalhaven’s fast response rescue vessel SA-24, crewed by Paul Klausen, Vince Ravesi and VRA Marine Training Coordinator John Murray was quickly underway and once at sea was able to maintain 20 knots in favourable sea conditions and cover the distance of about 9.5 nautical miles in a short space of time. On reaching the stricken vessel, with it’s dinghy now deployed ready for the crew to abandon ship, SA-24’s crew were able to get a high capacity electric bilge pump aboard and pump out the water and save the yacht and it’s crew. “Coota-Tar” was taken under tow and and towed north to the safety of the Crookhaven River with only one stop being made during the tow to pump more water out of the yacht. The rescue was completed at 3.30pm with “Coota-Tar” safely moored at Greenwell Point.