St Ives RNLI lifeboat crew go to the aid of sailing boat in difficulty
On the evening of 25 July, the crew of a jumbo association sailing boat, the William Paynter, experienced difficulties half a mile off St Ives Head so were assisted back to shore by the volunteer crew of the St Ives RNLI inshore lifeboat.
A former lifeboat coxswain, Eric Ward, witnessed the crew in difficulty whilst manouevring their boat back to harbour. In calm seas and misty conditions, William Paynter crew member, Jason Smith, reported 'having problems with lack of wind and the tide against them'. They were unable to zig zag back to harbour and were drifting further out to sea.
Helm of the William Paynter Matt Hayter added: 'We were attempting to tack back towards the habour when the lifeboat approached and offered us a tow.'
At 8.37pm the St Ives inshore lifeboat, with Barney Stevens at the helm along with volunteer crew members Samuel Bassett and Jonathan Harvey, was launched and within 20 minutes a tow had been rigged on the sailing boat. It was then towed back to its mooring in St Ives harbour.
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The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is the charity that saves lives at sea. Our volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service in the United Kingdom and Ireland from 238 lifeboat stations, including four along the River Thames and inland lifeboat stations at Loch Ness, Lough Derg, Enniskillen, Carrybridge and Lough Ree. Additionally the RNLI has more than 1,000 lifeguards on over 240 beaches around the UK and operates a specialist flood rescue team, which can respond anywhere across the UK and Ireland when inland flooding puts lives at risk.
The RNLI relies on public donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. As a charity it is separate from, but works alongside, government-controlled and funded coastguard services. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824 our lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved at least 140,000 lives. Volunteers make up 95% of the charity, including 4,600 volunteer lifeboat crew members and 3,000 volunteer shore crew. Additionally, tens of thousands of other dedicated volunteers raise funds and awareness, give safety advice, and help in our museums, shops and offices.
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