Hartlepool and Whitby RNLI lifeboats assist sail training vessel
Hartlepool RNLI all weather lifeboat ‘Betty Huntbatch’ and volunteer crewmembers were paged at 10.45am on Monday 23rd April to assist the Whitby RNLI all weather lifeboat ‘George and Mary Webb’ berth a 120 ton sail training vessel that had suffered mechanical failure earlier in the day off Whitby.
The all weather lifeboat launched at 11.05am and was alongside the casualty at 11.15am
The 35 metre vessel with 15 persons on board was towed the short distance into Hartlepool and berthed at the deep water berth in Hartlepool docks.
First aid was administered by the Hartlepool lifeboat crew to two members of the sail training vessel for minor injuries where they were then transferred by the all weather lifeboat to the Ferry Road lifeboat station where awaiting paramedics further assessed their injuries before they were sent to hospital by ambulance.
Hartlepool RNLI second coxswain and station mechanic Garry Waugh said ‘Due to the size of the vessel and the mechanical issue it had suffered we were able to assist Whitby lifeboat with the tow, berthing the boat safely and dealing with the two casualties’.
‘It was good teamwork all around and an incident that the volunteer crewmembers train for on a frequent basis.’
Whitby RNLI lifeboat returned to its home port and Hartlepool RNLI lifeboat was refuelled and made ready for service by 1.20pm
For more information please contact Tom Collins, Volunteer RNLI Lifeboat Press Officer on: 01429 266103
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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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