A MAN was rescued on Saturday after a yacht ran aground off Dumbarton Castle.

The crew of Helensburgh's RNLI lifeboat rescued the man – the only person on board the vessel – after finding the yacht "very firmly aground" at 12.27pm.

With two hours still to go to low tide it was quickly established that the yacht could not be refloated; after taking the man to Sandpoint Marina in Dumbarton, the lifeboat was stood down by the coastguard at 1.20pm.

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At 9.15pm on Saturday the UK Coastguard reported that the owner of the yacht had successfully re-boarded the vessel with a friend; when it floated off on the high tide, they were able to motor safely into Sandpoint Marina.