Swanage Lifeboat answers calls for help for a sailing boat and a dog

The lifeboat and its crew were already launched and exercising in Swanage Bay when a tasking was received from Solent Coastguard. A small sail boat and its two occupants was in trouble on the Kimmeridge Ledges. Within 25 minutes the ALB had arrived on scene and shortly afterwards the Coastguard Rescue Team (CRT) from Lulworth could be seen arriving by road. The CRT informed the Lifeboat crew that the casualty vessel had been seen by a member of the public; it had capsized but had been righted and was now at the mercy of the wind which was blowing it westward. The lifeboat started searching the sea and shoreline towards Worbarrow Bay.

The sailing boat was found aground at Arish Mell Gap in Worbarrow Bay, its occupants safely on the beach. The CRT team arrived and the decision was made to pull the boat up the beach, away from the water's edge and drive the sailors to safety. The crew will recover their boat when conditions allow. At 9:25pm the ALB was released from service and began its journey back to the station.

At 9:45pm the ALB received an unofficial request to use its searchlights to look for a dog which was suspected of going over the cliff on the Downs, just south of Peveril Point. Just after 10:00pm the lifeboat crew spotted the dog on a ledge halfway down the cliff. The ALB stayed in situ to illuminate the scene whilst HM Coastguard teams from Swanage, St Albans and Kimmeridge, together with support from the Fire Brigade, affected a rescue. After a passing storm with dramatic lightning, at 2:25am the dog, thankfully unharmed, had been lowered to the beach and walked up the Zig Zag steps to be reunited with its owner.

Swanage Lifeboat rehoused at 2:35am on Thursday morning having been at sea for seven and a half hours.

ALB Crew: (Coxn) Gavin Steeden, Becky Mack, Neil Brooks, Jamie Trumper, Gary Buglass, Adam O'Neill
Crew change - Scott Turner, Steve Williams, Nige Bower.
Shore Crew: (Head Launcher) Neil Collings, (Winch) Julian Vass, Felix Williams, Danielle Dix, Archie Burgess

RNLI Media Contacts

For further information, please contact:

Becky Mack, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer for RNLI South East, [email protected]

Jess Curtis, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for London and South East England, 07483 488243, [email protected]

Julie Rainey, RNLI Regional Communications Lead for London and South East England, 07827 358256, [email protected]

RNLI Press Office, 01202 336789, [email protected]

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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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