Couple rescued by Lyme Regis lifeboat crew after speedboat swamped by waves
Plans for a barbecue and a night camping on the beach went disastrously wrong last night for a young couple.
A man and his girlfriend in their 30s, from Colyton, Devon,were trying to beach their 14ft speedboat when it was swamped by waves and holed on rocks at Charton Bay west of Lyme Regis.
They were rescued by the volunteer crew of the Lyme Regis RNLI lifeboat after the man raised the alarm with his mobile phone. The lifeboat crew were paged to launch at about 1030pm
The speedboat skipper, who did not want to be named, said:'We both tried for about two hours to get the water out of the boat but in the end it was a write-off and I had to call for the lifeboat.
'We had set up a barbecue, but never had a chance to have anything to eat.We were very relieved to see the lifeboat crew who did a great job.'
The couple were taken to safety from the beach by the lifeboat crew who also pumped out the speedboat and towed it into Lyme Regis harbour at 1145pm
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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