Barrow RNLI Launched to Assist Motor Launch

The call for assistance came through from the regional HM Coastguard base in Holyhead at 6-48pm. The information received was that a 23-foot (7-metre) motor launch had sustained a fouled propeller off Hilpsford Point, south of Walney Lighthouse.

The crew was paged and the all-weather lifeboat, ‘Grace Dixon’, was launched at 7-08pm under the command of Coxswain, Shaun Charnley, assisted by a crew of six. The lifeboat was quickly on the scene and a tow line was attached to the motor launch. The decision was made to tow it back to its mooring near to the shipyard slipways in Walney Channel.

With the casualty vessel and its crew safe, the ‘Grace Dixon’ returned to Roa Island where it was winched back into the Boathouse by the slipway crew and made ready for the next launch.

The weather at the time of the incident was fine with good visibility and the wind was north-westerly, Force 4. High water was due at 10-24pm with a predicted height of 8.7 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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