Whitstable RNLI lifeboat launches to vessel aground

The lifeboat, with four volunteer crew on board, arrived on scene to find that the vessel was hard aground, with no prospect of being towed off. However two of the five people on board requested to be landed ashore.

Due to the state of the tide the lifeboat was unable to approach the vessel closer than 300 yards, so two of the occupants attempted to make their way out to the lifeboat using an inflatable dinghy. However the dinghy also ran aground, so they returned to the vessel to await the incoming tide later in the day.

The lifeboat therefore returned to station, arriving back ashore at 9am.

The helm was Richard Judge, accompanied by crew members Dave Parry, Stuart Enderby, and Oz Warren. This was the 48th call of the year for Whitstable RNLI lifeboat.

Notes to editors

• 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 Great Britain 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.
• The station is equipped with an Atlantic 85 lifeboat named Lewisco, purchased through a bequest of a Mrs  Constance Amy Lewis of London who passed away in 2006. 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.

RNLI media contacts
• Chris Davey, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Whitstable Lifeboat Station.
07741 012004/ [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

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.