Whitstable RNLI lifeboat assists fishing vessel
The Whitstable Atlantic 85 lifeboat Lewisco was launched on Saturday afternoon to assist a 25ft fishing vessel after the craft suffered battery failure in the entrance to The Swale.
The lifeboat arrived at the scene off Shellness, Isle of Sheppey at 2.30pm some 5 minutes after launching and found the Faversham based craft to be dragging her anchor.
A lifeboat crewmember went onboard the fishing vessel and assisted by recovering the anchor and attaching a tow following which the vessel was taken to a mooring off Harty Ferry and the two occupants both of whom were safe and well transferred ashore to make their own arrangements to return home.
Weather conditions at the time of the service were cloudy skies but excellent visibility and a smooth sea in the force 2 north easterly breeze.
This was the 6th call of the year for the Whitstable volunteer lifeboat crews.
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.
RNLI media contacts
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Chris Davey, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Whitstable Lifeboat Station.
07741 012004/ [email protected]
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Paul Dunt RNLI Press Officer London/southeast/east Tel: 0207 6207416 Mob: (07785) 296252 [email protected]
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For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789
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 142,700 lives.
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