Navigation buoy sparks false alarm for Redcar RNLI
A major navigation buoy off Redcar which was mistaken for a drifting dinghy led to the launch of the Redcar RNLI lifeboat on Monday 15 May 2017.
The relief Atlantic 85 class lifeboat Malcolm and Mona Bennett-Williams was launched just after 4.30pm following several 999 calls to UK Coastguard reporting an orange dinghy drifting five miles off Redcar.
The lifeboat was initially directed to search approximately one mile offshore near the Stray, Redcar. A coastguard rescue team arrived at the scene and spoke with one of the first informants and directed the lifeboat to a target further offshore.
Those directions led the lifeboat to the Saltscar Buoy, approximately three miles from Redcar. Satisfied that the first informants had seen the buoy and had believed it was a drifting inflatable, UK Coastguard stood down the lifeboat.
Helmsman Cameron Bond says: 'The fact that the coastguards had received more than one 999 call made us believe this was going to be a real rescue. But once the coastguard directed us out to sea, it was fairly obvious what we were heading towards was the Saltscar Buoy.
'This was a false alarm with good intent. We'd much rather go to a job like this than not be called and then learn someone was really in danger.'
The Saltscar Buoy is a north cardinal buoy approximately 3 metres high, and weighs around 6 tonnes. It is used to navigate ships into safe waters near the rocks at Redcar. Its distinctive shape and colour indicate that the safe waters are to the north of the buoy. For more information on navigation buoys go to the RNLI Coastal Safety website.
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