Yatch And Owner Rescued At Appledore - 18th August 1972

Mr Andy Bowden, of Appledore, carried out what he thought was a smart piece of salvage when he towed an apparently abandoned cabin cruiser from the South Tail on Bideford Bar and moored it safely 100 yards off the slipway at West Appledore.
But while he was having a drink in the local pub, the owner of the yacht, Mr R J Parsley, of Barnstaple, recovered it.
Mr Bowden was far from pleased. 'The boat would have been smashed up if I hadn't brought it in,' he said. 'It already had plenty of water in it.' Earlier he had tried unsuccessfully to locate the owner.
Mr Parsley was airlifted to safety by an RAF Chivenor rescue helicopter after his craft, the Crackerjack, had gone aground on the bar.
Winchman Sgt Bog Tountney was lowered to the deck and he helped Mr Parsley lower the sails and anchor the boat before they were lifted into the helicopter and flown ashore.