Published: April 6, 2008
Drama during Burnham-On-Sea Sailing Club's annual crane-in

The start of Burnham-On-Sea's new sailing season didn't quite go to plan on Saturday (April 5th) when one of the boats being craned into the River Brue started to take on water and sink.

Burnham Sailing Club's annual 'crane-in' is arranged every year at this time when boats are lifted out of the sheltered boat yard into the river for the start of the new sailing season.

On Saturday, sixteen boats were hoisted into the sky by two huge cranes and then lifted several hundred metres to the club's pontoons.

However, this year's event did not go fully to plan when a 45 year-old wooden clinker, called The Seraphin, which has recently been refurbished, started to take on water within seconds of being winched into the river - as pictured above and captured on video here.

A crowd of onlookers watched as water pumps were quickly brought into action to remove sea water seeping in through the boat's timbers.

"The water could not be stopped, so it was decided to lift the boat back out onto the side of the river," said organiser Paul Rosevere.

"That certainly was not planned, but the rest of the event went very well. We were relieved the weather stayed fine, despite a forecast of high winds," he added.

One of the sixteen boats being craned into the river

Two huge cranes towered over the Sailing Club

Sailing Club Commodore John Clist directs the operator of one crane

The boats will be moored at the pontoons until the end of the sailing season when they will be craned out back into the Sailing Club's boat yacht

BARB's safety boat team was on hand to help during the event