A low-water launch by RNLI Rye Harbour to rescue a stricken yacht

The boat was drifting towards Winchelsea Beach with an 80 year-old skipper and two crew. By the time the lifeboat reached the vessel it had run aground on Camber Beach. The helm, Tim Dickinson, assessed the situation and a tow was established. The boat and casualties were taken to the nearest safe harbour, Rye Harbour. At the scene were members of the Rye Bay and Dungeness Coastguards and a paramedic. Jeff, the skipper, was suffering from a fall and one of the crew had a suspected dislocated shoulder. The crew had discovered that the boat had a fractured fuel pipe and the contents of the fuel tank were in the bilge.

The boat was taken to its mooring in Rye on Sunday morning once there was enough water in the river, to assess the faults and rectify them. Jeff, the skipper, remarked today when we rang to see how he was, 'The RNLI and the other emergency services were absolutely brilliant. At all times they were kind and helpful. I can't thank them all enough.'

Tim Dickinson summed up the shout. ‘It was a great team effort with a positive outcome. The shore crew had to contend with a low water launch which has its challenges, especially in the dark. This was carried out swiftly and we were able to launch and assist the casualty really quickly.'

Boat Crew: Tim Dickinson, Stuart Clark, Tim Brown and Rob Jennings.

Shore crew: Tia and Izzy Bolton, Brendan Towner, James Arter and Jack Iliffe. Tractor driver Gary Collard

Paul Bolton, LOM, (Lifeboat Operations Manager) said, ‘Low water launches can be tricky because of the terrain of the shelving beach and the mud at low tide. The crew has trained to cope with this situation in practice so it was good to see that under pressure they rose to the challenge and the boat was brought to safety with those on board. As always we work alongside the other emergency services and everyone who took part deserves to be congratulated for their calmness and professionalism.’

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 146,000 lives.

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