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Alderney RNLI crew goes above and beyond

Lifeboats News Release

The Alderney Trent class all-weather lifeboat Roy Barker I was launched yesterday at 11:57 after a 5-metre open sailing dingy with two crew on board lost its rudder.

The small sailing vessel came into difficulty six miles south east of Alderney after embarking on a journey to the Channel Islands from south west England. The Alderney Lifeboat and voluntary crew were alongside the vessel at 12:21pm, approximately 24 minutes after launch. Upon arrival, the coxswain assessed the situation and decided a tow was the best course of action so the casualty crew were transferred to the Alderney Lifeboat.

Unfortunately, shortly into the tow the vessel capsized due to the dagger board / keel retracting, which caused the boat to lose stability in the choppy sea conditions. This required a revision in the rescue strategy with the vessel being towed to the nearest accessible beach, a request was made for Alderney Harbour RIB to meet the Lifeboat and tow the stricken vessel to Longis Bay. The tow was transferred, and the vessel was taken ashore to a slipway where it was transported via forklift to a trailer.

After a slow seven hour rescue due to tide and weather conditions, the crew remained onboard Roy Barker I and were safely delivered to Braye Harbour at 19:00, where they were met with dry clothes, before being accommodated by a crew member who opened his home to the stricken sailors for a hot meal and comfortable night’s sleep.

Rescued casualty said: 'In all of the chaos we felt so assured and safe, we cannot thank the Alderney lifeboat crew enough, there was no judgement just kindness, professionalism and warmth from the crew, they went above and beyond what we ever expected providing dry clothes for us on arrival at Braye Harbour and one of the crew even offered us his spare room for the night providing us with his company, food and a warm shower, we are so very grateful.'

Coxswain Declan Gaudion said: 'It was a very long rescue which resulted in nearly seven hours at sea, the decision was made to remove the vessel from the ocean as it would have been a potential navigational hazard, especially at this time of year. It was so nice to see that the RNLI spirit carried on after the rescue with crew members going above and beyond.'

For further information, please contact Jo Parmentier on [email protected] or 07911 723336. Alternatively, please contact the Press Office on 01202 336 789 or [email protected].

RNLI

The small sailing vessel came into difficulty six miles south east of Alderney.

RNLI

The casualty vessel was towed back to shore by Alderney Harbour.

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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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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