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Cowes lifeboat performs really cool rescue

Lifeboats News Release

As rescues go, the one tasked by Cowes RNLI Lifeboat on a stormy Solent today was rather unusual - a small workboat had sought help while operating as a floating ice-cream retailer.

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The so-called 26 foot Solent Ice-Cream Boat, with two persons on board, had told Solent Coastguards over a mobile phone that it had engine trouble while in the area of Osborne Bay.
Cowes lifeboat arrived on the scene just after 4 pm and towed the craft to its mooring well up Wootton Creek - but not before the lifeboat crew were each treated to ice-cream cornets for their forthcoming efforts.
'It was an unusual way of saying thank you, but much appreciated in the humid conditions nonetheless,' said Lifeboat Helm Neil Archer.
The lifeboat returned to station at 5.35 pm.
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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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George Chastney

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