Swimmers rescue yacht off Greenhill beach, Weymouth

The Inverters group, which meet at the Pier Bandstand on Saturday mornings, noticed that a yacht was very close to the beach at Greenhill in the heavy swell.

It is understood it had run aground and was waiting for the high tide so it could manoeuvre back out to sea.

The swimmers rallied round and helped to push the yacht out - the rescue mission was caught on video by a passer-by (see below).

Unfortunately, it's understood the yacht had to be rescued again a few hours later by the coastguard after it ran into difficulty further east along the coast.

Ben Doidge from the swimming group said: "Initially I walked past the boat at 7.30am between the rocks of Greenhill and the Pier Bandstand and thought that was unusual. Twelve of us got to the Pier Bandstand at 8am where we all meet and after the swim, 30 minutes later, we noticed the yacht was still in the same place.

"We were a bit surprised at first as we didn't know if they were in trouble or had just docked there. So all of us decided to take a look.

"There were two people on board, a man and a woman, who said it had run aground. We asked if they wanted help and they said yes."

The rescue mission was captured on video by a local who, after reporting the beached yacht to the harbour master, noticed the group of sea swimmers trying to help the yacht.

The video shows the swimmers gathering together and pushing the yacht away from the beach into deeper water so it could then manoeuvre further out to sea.

While there was an initial struggle to free the yacht, the swimmers and crew all felt a joint sense of "relief" when the vessel was finally pushed out to sea. The harbour master's RIB arrived shortly after.

The Inverters sea swimmers after rescuing the yacht (Image: Ben Doidge) Ben added: "We gathered round to push it out. Every time we pushed it, it swung back to the beach again so some of us had to go to the other side to stop it swinging back round. 

"I hope the two that were stranded managed to eventually tie up somewhere safely. Well done to all the lads that were willing to help. It was a good feeling seeing everyone come together and help."

The Inverters after the successful rescue mission (Image: Ben Doidge) "The Inverters" are a swimming group for any men in the Weymouth area who are interested in using cold water therapy techniques for physical and mental health benefits.

The group meet at the Pier Bandstand at 8am on Saturdays for a quick 10-minute dip in the sea, followed by coffee and a natter.