Sheerness RNLI lifeboat crew rescue sailor in a bit of a whirl
An elderly man was rescued after running aground in the Medway estuary on the morning of Tuesday 9 May.
The volunteer crew of the Sheerness RNLI inshore lifeboat Buster were called by the UK Coastguard at 5.58am to reports that an elderly gentleman, alone on a 30ft craft, was in difficulties in the area of Grain Spit at the mouth of the Medway.
The casualty was quickly located and the man, who was disorientated, informed the crew he thought he had been caught in a whirlpool, but in actual fact his vessel had run into shallow water and was hard aground on Grain Spit.
A line was attached to the craft and the ILB attempted to tow it off the mud bank without success.
The crew then advised the man that it would be better if they took him off his craft and back to the safety of the Sheerness Lifeboat Station where the Sheppey Coastguards and a Kent ambulance crew were waiting.
Having taken the man back to the Lifeboat station the crew returned to his craft and secured it with an anchor and left it safely in its previous position.
The ILB returned to station at 7.05am.
Ends
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Vic Booth RNLI Lifeboat Press Officer (Sheerness) 07926904453 / 01795 880544 [email protected] / [email protected]
Paul Dunt RNLI Press Officer S.E. [email protected] 07786668825
Tim Ash, RNLI Public Relations Manager (London/East/South East) on 0207 6207426, 07785 296252 [email protected]
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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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