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Whitstable RNLI assists Catamaran

Lifeboats News Release

A 16-foot Dart Catamaran had to be towed ashore by the Whitstable Atlantic 85 Lifeboat Lewisco on Sunday evening after the craft became dismasted in the vicinity of the Whitstable Street shingle bank.

The Whitstable Lifeboat.

RNLI/Chris Davey

The Whitstable Lifeboat.
Launching at 8.15pm the lifeboat crew located the vessel a 1/2-mile offshore and two of the three occupants one being a child, were transferred to the lifeboat and the craft then taken under tow to the beach at Whitstable Yacht Club where members of the Herne Bay Coastguard Rescue Team assisted with the recovery of the vessel.

The two occupants taken onboard the lifeboat were then walked ashore in the shallow water.

Weather conditions at the time were South Westerly force 3 winds and good visibility.

With the summer season now well underway and many people taking to the water lifeboat crews are reminding people to always be aware of wind and tide and to be equipped with suitable buoyncy aids and a means of communication with the shore such as a VHF radio or mobile phone.

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

  • Chris Davey, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Whitstable Lifeboat Station.
    07741 012004/ [email protected]

  • Paul Dunt RNLI Press Officer London/southeast/east Tel: 0207 6207416 Mob: (07785) 296252 [email protected]

  • 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 146,000 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.

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