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Dart RNLI volunteers help rescue casualty after cabin cruiser sinks

Lifeboats News Release

Dart RNLI volunteers were tasked were at 5.41pm on Thursday August 6 after reports of a boat in difficulty and a person in the water.

RNLI Dart

The sunken cabin cruiser
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Both the B-Class Atlantic and the D-Class lifeboats were launched to Mill Bay Cove at Kingswear. The D-Class was first on the scene, where the crew of Nigel Viles and Sam Smale, helmed by Tom Shanley, discovered a 16ft cabin cruiser had taken on water and sunk. A civilian RIB had managed to rescue the lone casualty from the water and get him on board. The D-Class then took over, and the casualty was transferred to the larger B-Class, helmed by Lee Darch and crewed by Yorkie Lomas, Tatty Pettigrew and Callum Hobson, and taken to the boat house to wait for the ambulance service.
The sunken boat remained in the water, approximately 70 metres from shore, until Dart Harbour winched her to safety.

RNLI/Dom Hart

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RNLI Media Contacts

For further information, please contact:

Dom Hart, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer for RNLI South West, [email protected] 07767 764 144

Amy Caldwell, RNLI Regional Communications Lead for South West England, 07920 818807, [email protected]

RNLI Press Office, 01202 336789, [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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For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, TikTok 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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