Cleethorpes and Humber lifeboats assist sinking yacht following Mayday call
Cleethorpes and Humber lifeboats assist sinking yacht following Mayday call
Lifeboats News Release
Cleethorpes and Humber lifeboats both responded to a call from the UK Coastguard this afternoon following a Mayday call from a yacht in the mouth of the River Humber which was taking on water.
RNLI
Humber and Cleethorpes lifeboat assisting stricken yacht with help from Iceni Defiant
Cleethorpes lifeboat was requested first and, with a crew of 2 on board, went to the yacht which was being assisted by a commercial vessel, the Iceni Defiant.
Having made sure the crew were safe and well, it quickly became clear that it would be impossible to take the yacht safely back to port at Grimsby without the portable salvage pump carried on the Humber lifeboat, which was then requested to join the operation.
With the salvage pump on board, the ailing vessel was then taken to Grimsby and escorted to its berth by the Cleethorpes lifeboat, where the UK Coastguard Community Rescue Team from Cleethorpes ensured all was well.
Steve Burton, volunteer helm of Cleethorpes lifeboat said: “This was a complex rescue involving coordinated work from a number of teams to safely return the vessel and her crew to Grimsby – I’m sure without our assistance the yacht would have been lost.”
David Steenvorden, Coxswain of the Humber Lifeboat, said: "Our thanks to the master and crew of the Iceni Defiant for going to the assistance of this vessel, keeping it safe until the RNLI arrived, and helping us throughout the operation."
Steve Austin, volunteer crew on Cleethorpes lifeboat, said: “We regularly train with our colleagues at Humber Lifeboat for exactly this sort of scenario, where we need to work alongside their crew using equipment we don’t carry on our own boat.”
Cleethorpes Lifeboat is operated by a volunteer crew belonging the RNLI, the charity that saves lives at sea.
For more information contact Matt McNally, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer for Cleethorpes RNLI on 07771-797556.
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.
