Whitstable RNLI lifeboat assists Dory
The Whitstable Atlantic 85 lifeboat Lewisco was launched on Tuesday afternoon on its 5th call of the year and the 3rd in the last week.
Lifeboat Operations Manger Mike Judge said “The lifeboat was launched at around 4.40pm to assist a 14ft Dory that had run out of fuel off Leysdown, Isle of Sheppey”.
“The three occupants, an adult couple and a teenager had contacted the Coastguard vis their VHF radio to alert them to their predicament. Having checked that no other vessels were in a position to help, the Coastguard tasked Whitstable lifeboat to attend”.
“In calm conditions the lifeboat crew located the craft and engaged a tow. The dory and its occupants were then taken back to Herne Bay from where they had launched”.
The operation was carried out observing all the precautions put in place for crew and launchers during the current pandemic.
Notes to editors
Whitstable RNLI Lifeboat Station was established in 1963 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and is one of 237 lifeboat stations around the shores of the UK and Ireland. The volunteer crews provide a maritime search and rescue service for the Kent coast. They cover the area between the Kingsferry Bridge on the Swale, in the west, around the south-eastern side of Sheppey and along the coast through Whitstable and Herne Bay to Reculver in the east and outwards into the Thames Estuary.
The station is equipped with an Atlantic 85 lifeboat named Lewisco, purchased through a bequest of a Miss Lewis of London who passed away in 2006.
She is what is known as a rigid inflatable inshore lifeboat, the boat’s rigid hull being topped by an inflatable sponson. She carries a crew of four people.
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Chris Davey, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Whitstable Lifeboat Station.
07741 012004/ [email protected]
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