Andy Hibbs, who has worked as a lobster fisherman for 31 years, was travelling south-east at 5.45am to unload his catch at Granville when the incident happened.
‘I was just going along and one bilge alarm went off and then the second one started going and I thought, “something has gone wrong here”,’ he said.
‘It was still dark and there was smoke everywhere so I did not know where the water was coming from but once I did it was easy to sort it.
‘I think the crew thought it was funny but then I think they realised it was pretty serious.
‘There was a lot of water in my boat at the time – probably about 2.5ft.’
Mr Hibbs added that although his pumps managed to deal with the water, he was not able to move more than a few knots and needed a tow from the lifeboat, Sir Max Aitken III, to help him move against the tide.
‘It was pretty close. It is definitely the closest call I have had for a long time but it is just one of those things that you just have to get on and deal with,’ he said.
‘I called the Coastguard and said that I was in no immediate danger but that I might need someone to bring a pump out but I did not need it in the end.
‘It was a great start to the day – the boys found it quite amusing.’
