People In Difficulty At Sea Prompts Several Call-Outs For Littlehampton RNLI

Monday, 13 July 2020 10:21

By Iona Stewart-Richardson @IslandIona

The RNLI volunteer crew recover a small boat and it's crew member back to Littlehampton harbour on 5 July Credit: RNLI / Richard Howlett

As lockdown is eased and more people are heading out on the water, Littlehampton RNLI has been mobilised three times to assist individuals who have got into difficulty at sea.

Last Sunday (5) the homemade engine failed on a small boat with four people on board and waves nearly overwhelmed the 8ft long craft.

Three of the occupants made it to the beach east of the harbour entrance, but the boat was unable to make it back to the harbour.

Following concern for the remaining person, a call to HM Coastguard resulted in the RNLI’s B Class lifeboat Renee Sherman launching to assist at 7.40pm.

A brisk Force 5 wind was still blowing along the shoreline causing the casualty vessel to have drifted as far as the East Beach Cafe where, rather than place the vessel on tow, both the casualty and his boat were lifted on to the lifeboat and taken back to the safety of the harbour.

On Friday (10) two teenagers had been rowing a small inflatable near the beach in Rustington, but had got into difficulty and were now in the water.

Following a request from HM Coastguard the charity’s Renee Sherman was launched at 6.09pm, but after an initial search failed to find the boys it was then confirmed that they had made it back to the beach.

The casualties were cold and one appeared to have taken in seawater, so they were passed into the care of ambulance crew.

Yesterday (Sunday) the volunteer crew of Renee Sherman headed east again at 3.23pm following a request from HM Coastguard.

A twenty foot long motor launch had lost power and set anchor near East Preston to prevent drifting, but the anchor was dragging with a moderate westerly breeze pushing the boat towards the shore.

Once on the scene the lifeboat crew promptly set up a tow line to recover the casualty vessel to deeper water as it was now only 100 metres from the beach and in danger of grounding.

The vessel and it’s three occupants were towed back to their mooring at Littlehampton Marina and Renee Sherman was cleaned and returned to the boathouse at 5pm, ready to save more lives at sea.

Nick White, Lifeboat Operations Manager, said:

“In apparently calm conditions small craft can struggle at sea, even within a few metres of the shore, and soon be overwhelmed by waves with occupants becoming cold, disorientated and in need of immediate help. Being aware of the risks before heading out on the water and knowing the load limits of your boat will reduce the chances of you needing to be rescued. If you see someone in distress at sea call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.”