St Mary's lifeboat assist two stranded dinghy sailors

Falmouth Coastguard had received a 999 call for help after the sailor's Mirror dinghy had washed ashore on an uninhabited island after their sails had blown out in the fresh to strong north easterly wind.

After establishing the island as Guthers, between St. Mary's and St. Martin's, the lifeboat crew, once on site, launched the inflatable Y boat to pick up the casualties. Neither of them were injured and they were transferred to The Whiteheads. An inter-island passenger launch was also on the scene, which collected the casualties and returned them to the quay. The lifeboat's Y boat towed the dinghy to Higher Town Beach on St. Martin's.

The shout was also notable for being the first rescue attended by the coxswain's son, Cameron Hicks,

The lifeboat then returned to St. Mary's harbour, refuelled and made ready for service.

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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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