Earlier this morning Mirabella V motored clear of the beach where she has been trapped since Thursday and is heading for La Ciotat near Marseilles where she will be dry docked to undergo a full condition check. A metal gantry which had been erected on deck last night over the keel box to support the 150-ton lifting keel had clearly succeeded in doing its job. Hydraulic rams had been used to support and possibly lift the keel enough to free it from the rock in which the keel’s bulb had apparently been wedged. Paul Johnson who project managed the build of the yacht was overseeing the operation. Tim Thomas, who has been watching the recovery from the beach for the past two days said that a small launch and the yacht’s tender helped to ‘wiggle and waggle’ the 247ft yacht off the beach. “She then motored away under her own power,” said Tim. The rescue coincided with an equinocial high tide which provided Mirabella with vital centremetres of water. For a full report on why Mirabella ran aground and exactly what was entailed in her rescue, read the November issue of Yachting World, published early next month.