Manic Monday for Eastbourne Lifeboats
Monday (6 Aug) proved to be a long and arduous day for the volunteer crew of Eastbourne lifeboats, starting after 8am and finishing with a dash 26 miles offshore to rescue a stranded yacht finally returning to station early on Tuesday morning.
The inshore lifeboat (ILB) was launched at 08.30am to assist police and coastguards with the search for a missing person. Whilst returning to station with nothing found, they were re-tasked to Bexhill to help recover a dog which had swum out to sea and was refusing to return to its distressed owner.
The ILB was stood down when the animal decided his morning swim had finished and it returned to shore unassisted. At7.54pm the ILB was requested to launch again when a yacht got caught in fishing gear whilst approaching Sovereign Harbour.
Fearing the casualty vessel could drift over the wreck of the Barnhill, the all-weather lifeboat was launched to assist. The yacht was eventually freed and towed into harbour. At 11.00pm a distress call was received by HM Coastguard from a 26ft yacht with two persons on board which had lost propulsion 26 miles offshore and was drifting helplessly between the busy shipping lanes of the English Channel.
The vessel was taken under tow and the long process of returning to harbour began, finally arriving in the safety of Sovereign Harbour at 4am. The lifeboat crew then tried to grab a few hours sleep before setting out for their day jobs.
Notes to editors
Eastbourne has celebrated over 185 years as a lifeboat station and currently operates an all-weather Tamar Class lifeboat ‘Diamond Jubilee’ and an inshore D-Class lifeboat ‘Laurence and Percy Hobbs’.
RNLI media contacts For more information please contact:
- Bob Jeffery, Eastbourne RNLI Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, on 07802 878017 [email protected]
- Paul Dunt, RNLI Press Officer (London/East/South East) on : 0207 6207426 Mob: 07785 296252
For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789
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.
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