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 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 over 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 142,700 lives.
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