Whitstable RNLI rescue Teenager adrift off Sheppey
A 17-year old male had to be rescued by the Whitstable RNLI lifeboat off Leysdown, Isle of Sheppey when he drifted out to sea on a derelict boat after it had been set afloat by a group of teenagers on Tuesday afternoon.
Unfortunately in the offshore breeze the craft drifted out to sea and began to sink. However the teenager used his mobile phone to alert the coastguard and reported he was unable to swi
Dover Coastguard requested the launch of the Whitstable lifeboat and Lewisco the station’s B-Class lifeboat launched at 3.45pm and headed to the scene.
Helm Ollie Myhilll said “He had done the right thing and called 999 and we via the coastguard were able to keep in communication with him throughout our passage to the incident and, he was able to report sighting us approaching”.
“We located the lad onboard a 10-foot craft 600-yards offshore from Leysdown and brought him onboard the lifeboat and landed him ashore where mum was waiting”.
“There is an obvious safety message here in that person’s finding derelict craft on the beach should leave them well alone”.
This was the 3rd call of the year for the volunteer crews at Whitstable RNLI.
Notes to editors
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Whitstable RNLI Lifeboat Station was established in 1963 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and is one of 237 lifeboat stations around the shores of the UK and Ireland. The volunteer crews provide a maritime search and rescue service for the Kent coast. They cover the area between the Kingsferry Bridge on the Swale, in the west, around the south-eastern side of Sheppey and along the coast through Whitstable and Herne Bay to Reculver in the east and outwards into the Thames Estuary.
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The station is equipped with an Atlantic 85 lifeboat named Lewisco, purchased through a bequest of a Miss Lewis of London who passed away in 2006.
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She is what is known as a rigid inflatable inshore lifeboat, the boat’s rigid hull being topped by an inflatable sponson. She carries a crew of four people.
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RNLI media contacts
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Chris Davey, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Whitstable Lifeboat Station.
07741 012004/ [email protected] -
Julie Rainey - Regional Communications Lead : 07827 358256
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Jess Curtis, Regional Communications Manager. Mob: 07483 488243| Email: [email protected]
For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,700 lives.
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