As dawn broke off the French Riviera this morning Mirabella V was still hard and fast on the shore close to Beaulieu sur Mer. The rescue tug Nerou is standing by, she has a line attached to the stricken yacht and divers will shortly inspect Mirabella’s hull and keel.

The weather this morning is fair with no more than five knots of breeze from the south and no sea running. If the re-floating of Mirabella is successful she will be towed to La Ciotat near Marseilles where she can be dry docked.

According to Tim Thomas, one time reporter for Yachting World, who is watching developments from the shoreline, Mirabella appears to be sitting high on her marks but there is no sign of any listing. “She may have emptied some of her tanks,” said Tim. He also noted that Mirabella’s anchor chain appeared not to be sitting in its fairlead at the point at which it exits the hull on the stem. It is also apparent that Mirabella’s keel in not in the fully up position. When it is fully retracted the top of the fin protrudes through the top of the coachroof and there is no sign of this at the moment, which suggests there is a problem with the lift mechanism.