Falmouth lifeboat crew launch to a boat drifting at sea
Falmouth’s inshore lifeboat was tasked to launch by the Coastguard to reports of an apparently unmanned yacht floating in the seas near the entrance to the Helford River on Thursday 24 September.
At 5.52pm, the inshore lifeboat Robina Nixon Chard with Helm Jamie Connolly and crew Tamsin Mulcahy, Adam West and Jack Williams launched and travelled out of the harbour and towards the Helford River. The volunteer crew soon found the small sailing boat drifting rapidly to the east. A crew member was placed aboard, and with no obvious signs of anyone having been on the boat recently, the boat was towed back and placed on a visitor mooring in the Helford River. It appeared that the sailing boat had parted its mooring and drifted out of the river towards the open seas in the strong winds.
The lifeboat then returned to the station and was made ready for service. Once back in the station, the Coastguard informed the crew that the vessel’s owner has been contacted and informed of the location of their vessel, who was grateful for the boat’s recovery.
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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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