Berwick-upon Tweed RNLI rescue young family from rib boat trip
Berwick-upon-Tweed RNLI received a call on Saturday 8 September 2022 at 12.37pm from H M Coastguard to launch both lifeboats the all-weather Mersey and the D-class inshore lifeboat, to go to the aid of a broken down RIB, with six people on board.
Both lifeboats made haste to find the RIB one mile north of the Berwick Pier.
On arrival, Coxswain Robert Frost and Helmsman Michael Avril assessed the situation.
The owner of the RIB had mistakenly put the wrong fuel into the boat which had caused the engines to cut out.
Due to the engine failure and the risk of the RIB drifting into rocks or local shipping vessels it was deemed for safety reasons, to take on board the all-weather lifeboat the two very young children and their mother.
The owner of the boat, with the father and son of the family stayed on the RIB, to help one of the inshore RNLI crew members John Campbell, who had climbed aboard the RIB, rig a towline to the all-weather lifeboat.
Once the RIB had been towed to safety at the Carr Rock outside the lifeboat station, they were met by other lifeboat crew members and H M Coastguard and checked to see if everyone was alright.
The mother of the family, who were on holiday from Kinross said:’ We can’t thank you enough for bringing us back safely.'
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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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