St Ives volunteer lifeboat crew rescue unwell man in challenging conditions
St Ives all weather lifeboat Nora Stachura was launched on the morning of Saturday 7 April following a request from Portreath Coastguard cliff team to assist them in removing an unwell man from a vessel inside Portreath harbour.
St Ives lifeboat, under the command of coxwain Robert Cocking launched at 11.03am and headed towards Portreath arriving in 20 minutes.
The conditions inside Portreath harbour were challenging with seas being deflected from the harbour walls making the sea state unpredictable.
The coxwain put the lifeboat alongside the vessel and the casualty was assessed. A serious skin condition made handling the patient very difficult and in order to minimise any discomfort a stretcher was used to transfer the man to the St Ives lifeboat.
Once the casualty was secure the lifeboat made towards St Ives landing the man at Smeatons Pier at 12.16am where Cornwall Fire and Rescue first responders and an Ambulance was waiting. Following assessment the man chose to return home with a family member and was not admitted to hospital.
During the ‘service call’ debrief David Holland-Kemp was commended for his outstanding casualty care.
RNLI media contactsFor further information, please contact the RNLI's Regional Media Officer Carrie Garrad on 07786 668847 or [email protected]
RNLI online
For more information on the RNLI please visit www.rnli.org.uk. News releases and other media resources, including RSS feeds, downloadable photos and video, are available at the RNLI Press Centre www.rnli.org.uk/press
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.
Learn more about the RNLI
For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.
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.