Walton and Frinton RNLI volunteers respond to two very different calls
The volunteer lifeboat crew at Walton and Frinton have been showing the diversity of their role with two very different calls in just a few days.
On Wednesday 13 July at 4.15pm the team were requested by UK Coastguard to assist a small vessel which had run aground in the Walton Backwaters.
The lifeboat coxswain took the Irene Muriel Rees all-weather lifeboat as close as he could before two of the crew launched the smaller daughter craft to locate the vessel among the many small islands and creeks.
With the tide at it’s lowest and the two people on the motor dinghy suffering the effects of exposure, it was decided to take additional lifeboat crew members to assist with pushing the small craft back down the mud bank on which it was stranded. Meanwhile the lifeboat remained at anchor in the deeper part of the creek with only a skeleton crew aboard.
Once the small vessel was afloat again its occupants, two people and a dog, were taken aboard the lifeboat to warm up as they and their craft were taken back to Titchmarsh Marina.
The second call came just before 8am on Sunday 17 July when the crew were requested by the Coastguard to assist a vessel with an engine fire.
One of the commercial vessels servicing the wind farms just offshore was experiencing an engine fire. Thankfully the crew on the vessel had managed to contain the fire and were uninjured. The coastguard requested the lifeboat standby while other wind farm boats escorted the vessel back towards Harwich Harbour in case any further problems were found. The vessel was met at Parkeston Quay by the fire brigade who checked the vessel and crew.
The lifeboat was released from duty to refuel and later returned to their berth at midday.
RNLI Media contacts
For more information please telephone Miranda Rayner, Walton and Frinton RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07799691852 or [email protected]
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.
Learn more about the RNLI
For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.
Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.