Search by Lytham St Annes RNLI for man missing in the sea
Night time call out for RNLI Lifeboat Volunteers
Both the Lytham St Annes Lifeboat volunteer crews were called out in the early hours of Wednesday morning (15th August 2018) to search for a man missing in the sea off St Annes in a fast running spring tide and darkness.
The Inshore lifeboat (ILB) crew were paged at 1.59 AM with the crew for the All-weather lifeboat (ALB) being paged 12 minutes later at 2.11 AM with the task to provide back up and extra illumination for the ILB during the search.
The ILB MOAM with Helmsman Ben McGarry in charge was launched at Seafield Road slipway, Lytham and headed round to St Annes Pier. The high tide allowed the Helmsman to sail the boat round close inshore to save time, rather than by the usual, more circuitous route. Meanwhile the Barbara Anne with Coxswain Gary Bird in command was launched at her boathouse. At the same time some members of the Station’s Shore Crew headed out on the Massey tractor and trailer to conduct a shoreline search from the landward side.
Within a very short time of launching however, the missing man was spotted from the shore and rescued by the Lytham Coastguard assisted by the Police and the lifeboats were recalled from their search. Both boats were brought ashore at the South Promenade boathouse and after washing off and checking over, the Barbara Anne was re-housed and the MOAM left for her own boathouse at Central Beach by road. All was completed by 3.30 AM and the volunteers could return home to their broken sleep.
Helmsman Ben McGarry said, “He was a lucky man to be found so quickly in those conditions with the high tide covering most of the beach”.
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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