
Barrow Lifeboat Called to Assist Yacht North-West of Walney Island
Volunteer crew from Barrow’s Lifeboat Station launched their all-weather lifeboat this afternoon to go to the aid of a ketch which had suffered engine failure.
The call for assistance came from the regional HM Coastguard base in Holyhead at 4-55pm with a request to launch to a 32-foot (9.75 metres) ketch, with three people on board, located some 15 miles north west of Walney Island.
The crew was paged and the all-weather lifeboat, ‘Grace Dixon’, was launched at 5-04pm under the command of Coxswain, Shaun Charnley, assisted by six crew. The passage to the scene took just over an hour and after the situation was assessed, it was decided to take the casualty vessel under tow. It took around two and a half hours to tow the vessel to Barrow where it was placed on a mooring at Roa Island.
With the vessel and crew safe, the lifeboat returned to the boathouse at 9-00pm where it was washed down and prepared for the next launch.
The weather at the time of the incident was fine and clear. The wind was west north-westerly, Force 3-4, and the high tide was at 9-35pm with a predicted height of 7.8 metres.
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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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