Cowes lifeboat attends mud-trap drama in River Medina
Three people who became stuck in the mud in the River Medina during the early hours of this morning sparked a rescue operation involving Ventnor coastguards and Cowes RNLI lifeboat.
One of the three had earlier arrived in the area of Island Harbour from Portsmouth at the helm of the 10-metre motor-cruiser Pipin to pick up his son, thought to have attended the Island’s Music Festival at nearby Seaclose. Before the father could do so, however, the boat ran aground and when he attempted to reach the shore in the boat’s tender that too ran aground, and an oar was lost.
As he struggled to reach the shore on foot he became stuck fast in the cloying mud. The same fate also befell the son and another yachtsman who went to his aid.
Eventually all three were brought ashore by Ventnor coastguards, and the father was taken by ambulance to hospital suffering from cold. The lifeboat managed to re-float the motor-cruiser and tow it to a pontoon off Island Harbour. The tender was also recovered.
The lifeboat, which was launched just after 1 am, was away from its station for some two hours.
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The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is the charity that saves lives at sea. Our volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service in the United Kingdom and Ireland from 238 lifeboat stations, including four along the River Thames and inland lifeboat stations at Loch Ness, Lough Derg, Enniskillen and Lough Ree. Additionally the RNLI has more than 1,000 lifeguards on over 240 beaches around the UK and operates a specialist flood rescue team, which can respond anywhere across the UK and Ireland when inland flooding puts lives at risk.
The RNLI relies on public donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. As a charity it is separate from, but works alongside, government-controlled and funded coastguard services. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824 our lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved at least 140,000 lives. Volunteers make up 95% of the charity, including 4,600 volunteer lifeboat crew members and 3,000 volunteer shore crew. Additionally, tens of thousands of other dedicated volunteers raise funds and awareness, give safety advice, and help in our museums, shops and offices.
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