A Muddy story from Whitstable RNLI

At low tide the stations B-Class lifeboat Lewisco has to be transported some considerable distance across mud flats and sometimes in very soft conditions requiring considerable skill from the tractor driver. Inevitably the tractor and launching carriage return to shore caked in mud and beach material. In addition if the lifeboat has been tasked to an incident at low tide involving vessels or persons on sand or mud banks then very often crewmembers and the boat return in a similar state!

This was the case this week when on Tuesday the lifeboat was launched at just after10.00pm to an incident in Herne Bay and then again on Wednesday evening when the lifeboat was diverted from an exercise at 8.32pm following a report from Dover Coastguard of 2-persons stranded on a sandbank in the entrance to The Swale after their speedboat had run aground. A 3^rd person had managed to reach the shore and call for assistance.

As it turned out due to the low water the lifeboat was unable to reach the pair and an attempt by two crewmembers to walk to the casualties was aborted after the conditions on the bank were too soft. Dover Coastguard therefore requested the rescue helicopter from Lydd to attend the scene and on it’s arrival the casualties were winched onboard and landed on Sheppey.

Lewisco and her crew subsequently returned to station but with the boat and crew in a somewhat muddy condition, so along with the tractor and launching carriage the shore crew had quite a task in cleaning everything and everybody down!

Helm Sam Turner said “Thanks to everyone for their efforts during the long evening involving the exercise and then the diversion to the service which resulted in a very muddy boat and a low water recovery. It was a challenging job in many respects, but ultimately a job very well done by all”.

The casualties from both calls were unharmed.

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]

• Julie Rainey - Regional Communications Lead : 07827 358256

• Jess Curtis, Regional Communications Manager. Mob: 07483 488243| Email: [email protected]

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI is the charity that 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 146,700 lives.

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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

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