Wells RNLI lifeboat aborts training exercise to rescue fishing boat
It may be just before Christmas but the task of saving lives at sea doesn’t stop fopr the volunteer crew of Wells RNLI lifeboat.
While in the middle of a routine training exercise, the lifeboat crew were called upon by the UK Coastguard to rescue a small fishing boat that had suffered engine failure.
The 24ft leisure craft, Patsy Lou, was heading for Grimsby from Wells to lay up for the winter. Five miles north of Wells her engine stopped working. The two-person crew radioed UK Humber Coastguard to alert them to their situation.
The UK Coastguard contacted Wells lifeboat and at 9am this morning (Sunday 18 December) the lifeboat crew immediately called off their planned exercise and the all-weather boat diverted to the disabled fishing boat whose crew radioed that their water pump had stopped working.
The lifeboat took her in tow and brought her back to Wells Harbour, her home port, and put her on a mooring. Thankfully no one was hurt in the incident.
RNLI media contacts
- John Mitchell, Wells RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, on tel 01328 710882, mobile 07831 103166, email [email protected].
- Tim Ash, RNLI Public Relations Manager (London/East/South East) on 0207 6207426, 07785 296252 [email protected]
- For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity 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 146,000 lives.
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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
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