Two calls A RED FLARE was sighted off shore by the honorary secretary of Withernsea lifeboat station and a shore helper at 2025 on Sunday July 27, 1980. Maroons were fired and while the two men were preparing the D class inflatable lifeboat for launching two crew members arrived. Within three minutes of the first sighting the lifeboat had launched with Graham White as helmsman and Sydney Megson as his crew.

It was a clear, quiet evening but the tide was ebbing. The casualty was found to be a small boat from which four men had been diving on the Canada wreck. When they had returned to their boat at 1830 they had not been able to start the engine. They had set out to 'swim' the boat back the three miles to Withernsea but when, two hours later, they were no nearer the beach and it was beginning to get dark they decided to fire a flare.

Withernsea inflatable lifeboat had towed the boat, with her four divers, back to the beach by 2110 and was rehoused by 2145..