Padstow and Newquay RNLI lifeboat volunteers assist disabled fishing boat
Padstow and Newquay RNLI crews both launched on Monday morning (8 January) to assist a fishing boat which was disabled by a drifting trawl net and snagged on the seabed, approximately four miles north west of Newquay
Newquay’s RNLI volunteers were alerted just before 9.30am and launched the relief Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat Martin Frederick Whitehouse to assist, followed by their RNLI colleagues at Padstow, who were called at around 9.45am and responded in the charity’s Tamar class all-weather lifeboat Spirit of Padstow. The call was the first of the year for both RNLI crews.
The stricken ten-metre fishing boat with a father & son crew was hauling crab pots when its propeller and fishing gear became entangled in the drifting trawl net. A nearby fishing boat, crewed by one of Newquay’s RNLI volunteers, also responded to the call for help and assisted the other crews with the tangled pots while Padstow lifeboat established a tow line.
In light easterly winds and calm seas, Padstow lifeboat towed the fishing boat and two crew to the entrance of Newquay Harbour, where Newquay RNLI crew took over the tow and brought the boat safely in to the harbour, With low tide due shortly after 4pm, the disabled vessel was later left high and dry on the sand, allowing the fishermen to remove the tangled trawl net from the propeller.
Newquay lifeboat returned to shore at 12.30pm, three hours after launching, while Padstow’s RNLI volunteers arrived back at their station at 1.15pm.
RNLI media contacts
For more information please contact Abigail Jago, Padstow RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07460 484503 or [email protected] or Andy Hobkinson, Newquay RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07880 507464 or [email protected].
Alternatively, Carrie Garrad, Regional Media Officer on 07786 668847 or [email protected] or contact RNLI Public Relations 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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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
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