Busy Bank Holiday for Poole volunteers
Poole Lifeboat crews were tasked early this morning 05.30am (Saturday May 4) to a report of a missing person.
Both Poole Lifeboats were requested to launch by the UK Coastguard to search for a missing person, they worked parallel, searching along the coast from Sandbank, Bournemouth, to Boscombe then onto Southbourne.
The tide was flooding with a slight chop in Poole Bay and a chilling Easterly wind.
The Coastguard rescue teams from Southbourne and Poole were scouring the shore side and a coordinated intensive search ensued. Nothing untoward was found so the lifeboat crews were stood down and returned back to station.
After refuelling and preparing the lifeboats for service the crew returned home for breakfast at 8.30am and for one volunteer, Suzie Jupp this was her first official ’Shout’ as Helm, well done Suzie.
The pagers rang out again at 6pm to a report of a 24ft Yacht with two people on-board, that had the misfortune to have ran aground and reported that they had encountered engine failure.
The Atlantic 85 was launched and swiftly on scene, finding the stricken vessel at ‘Stoney Island’, which is just as it says a patch of stone, inside the entrance of the Harbour.
When the lifeboat arrived on scene, they found that the tide was flooding, so after making sure that the people on-board were okay the crew waited alongside for the tide to come back so that they could tow the vessel free.
A lifeboat volunteer was transferred across on-board and checked for any ingress of water inside the boat as the tide came back.
As all appeared okay, the lifeboat then towed the vessel clear, re-floating it into deeper water and then brought it safely back to Poole Quay.
With the vessel safe alongside, the lifeboat crew returned back to station, re-fuelled and made the boat ready for service, the crew headed home at around 8pm.
For one volunteer, this call out will be remembered, as this was a first official ‘Shout’ for trainee Laura
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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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
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