Reports of object in the sea off Happisburgh
Happisburgh RNLI volunteers were called into action Friday 14 June 2019 at 5:30pm to an object in the water 400m off Town Gap, Happisburgh.
The UK Coastguard alerted Deputy Launching Authority, Paul Broomfield with the information; he in turn alerted the crew to launch the Station’s D Class lifeboat Russell Pickering to investigate the object. Within minutes the lifeboat was on the water with Tim Grimmer as helm and Sean Thurston and Jon Newton as crew.
Russell Pickering was soon off town gap and, with Bacton Coastguard with the caller, soon established that the object was in fact the Wave Buoy which is operated by the Environment Agency.
This was a false alarm with good intent.
Tim Grimmer said: 'If you are not sure of what you are seeing and worried then call 999 and ask for the Coastguard; the most important thing for the caller to do is to stay and watch the object until the Coastguard and lifeboat arrive on scene so the object can be checked. This is what this caller did. If he had not stayed and observed the object then there would have had to be a full scale search.'
Russell Pickering returned to station and was ready for service at 6:10pm.
This was the first shout for Jon Newton.
RNLI Media contacts
Happisburgh Lifeboat Station Volunteer Press Officer Philip Smith, Mobile: 07766007936, Email: [email protected]
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.
Learn more about the RNLI
For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.
Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.