Three rescues in one afternoon for Plymouth RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew

Whilst responding to this incident the crew were also launched to assist a yachtsman when his tender sunk on the way to his yacht on the river Tamar. Later that day the volunteer crew also responded to a 999 call to rescue two people from a vessel with engine problems between Rame Head and Penlee Point.

The incident south of Rame Head occurred at 1.32pm and the RNLI volunteers worked with the crew of the Coastguard helicopter to winch the unwell fisherman off the vessel and on to the helicopter, he was then taken to Derriford hospital for treatment. Two of the RNLI crew then stayed on board the vessel and the all-weather lifeboat Sybil Mullen Glover escorted the fishing vessel back to Plymouth.

At around 2pm another call was received by the RNLI and the inshore lifeboat Millennium Forester launched to rescue a man from a nearby boat that he had managed to swim to after his tender had sunk on the way out to his yacht. The inshore lifeboat crew were able to find the uninjured man and help him by pumping water from the tender, relocating his oars and ensuring he returned safely to shore where he could make repairs to the boat

Within two hours of the last launch Falmouth coastguard tasked the volunteer crew of the all-weather lifeboat to reports of a broken down boat. The alarm was raised after a 999 call at approximately 4pm. The crew proceeded to the two people on board the vessel which had suffered engine problems between Rame Head and Penlee Point. After assessing the situation the lifeboat crew took the vessel in tow into Cawsand, where the vessel was secured and awaited an engineer.

Chris Westall, the Lifeboat Operations Manager at Plymouth Lifeboat Station said ‘Plymouth Lifeboats have now launched on service some 61 times this year already. We are anticipating another busy bank holiday weekend and would ask members of the public and mariners in general to stay safe, respect the water and remain vigilant when on or around the water. We would also ask them to ensure they have suitable safety equipment for whatever activity they are participating in and to make sure they have a sufficient means to call for help should they need to.’

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