Littlehampton and Shoreham RNLI lifeboat crews have assisted in the rescue of three people who ended up in the water when their boat sank off Worthing on Sunday (April 21).
The crew of Littlehampton’s B-class lifeboat Renee Sherman had experienced choppy seas and strong, cool, force four, north-easterly winds during their regular Sunday morning training session, but say they were looking forward to meeting up at sea with fellow RNLI volunteers from their flanking station at Shoreham, who were aboard a Tamar class lifeboat.
At 11.40am on receiving a call rom HM Coastguard, both lifeboats headed towards the reported location of the sinking, four miles south of Worthing.
At the scene only the upper part of the bow of a small motor vessel was visible above the water and the three occupants who had ended up in the sea had already been rescued by a fishing boat that was in the area.
PHOTO: RNLI lifeboat from Littlehampton at the scene of sunken vessel with only the bow still above water. Courtesy of RNLI.
One of the casualties was particularly cold and had a minor cut so they were transferred firstly to Littlehampton’s lifeboat then onto the Shoreham lifeboat where they were kept warm.
Both boats headed to Littlehampton, with Shoreham lifeboat mooring at Town Quay and Littlehampton lifeboat returning to the station.
The casualty was looked after at the lifeboat station where, on arrival, paramedics concluded there was no need for further medical attention. HM Coastguard confirmed that the fishing vessel involved in the rescue had returned the other two casualties to Brighton Marina.
Nick White, Lifeboat Operations Manager at Littlehampton lifeboat station, said:
"Although a bright sunny day, cold northerly winds had resulted in choppy sea conditions and these can prove challenging for small boats. The seas nearshore at this time of year are still cold at around 10 degrees centigrade, so ending up in the water unexpectedly can lead to cold water shock and hypothermia.
"Fortunately vessels were close by and able to recover the casualties from the water before the RNLI arrived on the scene and we thank them for responding as the casualty vessel sank in a matter of moments."
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