Barrow lifeboat assists yacht in Walney Channel

The tasking request for assistance was received from HM Coastguard in Holyhead at 11-52am. The information given was that a 14-metre (46-foot) yacht had run aground near East Scar in Walney Channel, to the south-east of Piel Island.

The crew was paged and the inshore lifeboat, Raymond and Dorothy Billingham, was launched at 12-23pm with Adam Cleasby at the helm along with crew, Mike Armstrong and Phil Jackson.

The lifeboat made the short passage to the casualty and was able to reset its anchor. The combination of a better anchor position and the incoming tide allowed the yacht to refloat, and the casualty was soon able to resume its onward passage to Fleetwood. As a precaution and with other traffic operating in the Channel, the lifeboat escorted the yacht out towards Sea 5 buoy in the Outer Channel.

The lifeboat returned to the Boathouse at 1-07pm where it was re-housed by the waiting shore crew and made ready for the next launch.

The weather at the time of the incident was good and the wind was south-westerly, Force 5. The next high tide was due at 4-26pm with a predicted height of 8.0m.

RNLI Media Contacts

For further information, please contact:

Chris Clouter, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer for RNLI Barrow, [email protected]

Claire Fitzpatrick-Smith, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for Wales, West of England and Isle of Man, 07977 728 315, [email protected]

Danielle Rush, RNLI Regional Communications Lead for Wales, West of England and Isle of Man, 07786 668829, [email protected]

RNLI Press Office, 01202 336789, [email protected]

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