D class saves three from holed yacht Helmsman Gary Miller and crew members Russell Wignall and Martin Jaggs of Lytham St Annes D class inshore lifeboat have received framed letters of thanks from the RNLI's chairman after the rescue of three people on 6 June 1994.

Deputy divisional inspector for the north division Guy Flatten said in his report that the speed and brevity of the service in no way detracted from the skill and seamanship of the lifeboat crew.

It was carried out at the upper limits of the weather conditions for a D class lifeboat and, he added, any delay in reaching the casualties could have resulted in tragedy.

Events had begun earlier on Monday 6 June when the 37ft motor-sailer Gean, outward bound for the Isle of Man, had run aground just outside the deep water channel. The tide was falling and there was a rocky training bank close to leeward.

A lifeboat crew member noticed the yacht at 1730 and reported her presence to the station and the Coastguard. Although she was in no immediate danger the wind was increasing and the tide would soon start to flood strongly up the channel. An Auxiliary Coastguard kept watch as the vessel lifted and suddenly saw her float off, swing towards the rocky wall and part her anchor cable. By now the wind was SW Force 6 creating a nasty sea and the flood was running strongly up the entrance channel.

Gean broadcast a Mayday as she had been holed on the training bank, and the water level had risen to high enough to drown the engine.

The coastguard alerted the station at 1950 and just over ten minutes later the station's D class had launched from her low water launch site half-a-mile away and was making for the casualty through 4ft to 6ft seas. About two miles away from the scene Martin Jaggs caught sight of the yacht's mast, and as it was not rising and falling with the seas surmised that she had sunk. With the tide flooding hard towards them the lifeboat crew kept a sharp lookout for the survivors, soon spotting some debris in the water. Moments later they crested a wave and saw an overturned rubber dinghy about 200 yards away with the people in the water clinging to it.

There were very confused 6ft seas in this area and helmsman Miller had to use great skill to put the lifeboat alongside the dinghy.

The three survivors - two men and ayoung woman -had now been in the water for about 30 minutes and helmsman Miller was concerned that the girl was low in the water and might let go.

Crew member Wignall jumped in to the water andhelped her to the lifeboat, which was washed away from the dinghy while she was being helped aboard.

Helmsman Miller put the lifeboat alongside the dinghy again and the two men were then helped aboard followed by Andrew Wignall.

At 2025 the lifeboat headed back to the station, and as the suvivors appeared to be sufferring from varying degrees of hypothermia they were carefully monitored on their way back to the station where an ambulance and the station's honorary medical adviser were waiting.

All three were safely landed at 2045 and found not to need hospitalisation.

After being given warm showers and dry clothing the HMA stayed with them until they had recovered.

The station's all-weather Tyne class had been launched at 2015 to provide back-up and she proceeded to the casualty to recover the dinghy. The yacht broke up completely just as she arrived..