RNLI Penlee rescue lone fisherman in early morning call out
Penlee RNLI have rescued a lone local fisherman after his boat broke down in Mount’s Bay during the early hours of the morning (Friday 9 February)
Falmouth Coastguard were alerted to this emergency by a family member who was concerned about the safety and welfare of her relative. The lone fisherman had left his home address at about 10.30pm to go on a night-time fishing trip, launching his inflatable boat from Long Rock beach into the darkness of Mount’s Bay at about 1.00am. Shortly after launching the outboard engine broke down and the fisherman was forced to row against a strong north-westerly wind which was gusting to Force 8 for most of the night - he was unable to make any headway and eventually became extremely tired. Thankfully he was able to use his mobile phone to summon help.
Just before daylight, at 7.02am, just 5 minutes after the pagers had sounded, Penlee RNLI’s all-weather lifeboat Ivan Ellen, launched from Newlyn with seven crew onboard. They steamed across Mount’s Bay and quickly located the inflatable and its occupant, who was waving a torch to attract their attention, 1-mile south of St Michael’s Mount. The fisherman was very cold, exhausted and extremely relieved to see the lifeboat. He was taken onboard the Ivan Ellen with his inflatable boat and conveyed back to Newlyn. On arrival he was taken to the Lifeboat Station to warm up and have a cuppa of tea. None the worse for his ordeal he was collected by a family member.
The weather conditions at the time were quite poor with a north-westerly wind still gusting to Force 8, it was extremely cold with a choppy sea.
Speaking following this call out, Penlee RNLI Coxswain Patch Harvey said: ‘This was an early morning call out for our volunteers who reacted promptly to their pagers. Time is of the essence in these circumstances and the lifeboat was heading out of Newlyn Harbour in 5 minutes. Thankfully we located the casualty really quickly but with a strong north-westerly wind, freezing temperatures of just one degree, and a choppy sea, the end result could easily have been different. This call out is another fine example of our volunteer crew at Penlee being willing to sacrifice the warmth and comfort of their beds for the cold and damp conditions at sea, to help bring others to safety.’
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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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