THE LIFEBOAT Atlantic 21 lifeboat B- 589 James Burgess Funding: Gift of Mr and Mrs A Burgess THE CREW Helmsman Andrew Coe Crew members Philip Brenchley Adam Cowell WALMER LIFEBOAT STATION Established: First established 1856; closed 1912.

Re-established 1927 RNLI Medals:Three Cold, four Silver and four Bronze THE CASUALTY Crew of two on the 8.5m sailing yacht Tahi-Tahi THE CONDITIONS Weather Dry, cloudy Visibility: Dark Wind: Force 7 Sea state: Rough, 2m swellA flare for rescue in darknessWalmer lifeboat crew proved they are ready for anything 24/7 when they were paged at 2 o'clock one morning in mid-winter. The lives of two yachtsmen depended on the crew being wide awake and alert throughout the service It was nearly 2am on 15 December when Walmer's Phil Brenchley and Helmsman Andrew Coe were woken up by their pagers. By chance, Crew Member Adam Cowell was in a taxi near the station when he got the call. All three rushed to the station but were initially unaware that this would be a difficult service. It was only when Phil was putting on his kit that he realised it might be a 'rough one'.

He recalls that when the lifeboat station doors were opened: 'All of a sudden the wind blew straight in the door and I thought, oh my goodness, it's blowing hard.' A yacht with a crew of two had reportedly run aground on Goodwin Sands, on the eastern side of Trinity Bay.

The yacht had lost power and the men's lives were at risk. With no radio on board, the yachtsmen had relied on a mobile phone to call the Coastguard for help.

False start for lifeboat Walmer's Atlantic 21 James Burgess launched at 2.20am. They ploughed through the darkness in rough seas and winds of force 7. Shortly after launching Andrew noticed a loss of engine revs on the port engine. The engine cut out, was restarted and cut out again. Andrew recognised the symptoms as a fouled propeller. He used the starboard engine to keep the lifeboat head to sea, while Phil reached over, wrestling to cut the rope that was twisted round the prop. Waves hit Phil in the face, but he managed to cut the rope free.

Location, Location, location The yacht had lost power, so with no lights and no radio on board she was extremely difficult to locate. The Coastguard told the yacht's crew to fire a red parachute flare. The flares on theyacht were out-of-date, but the first one they tried thankfully worked.

On the Atlantic 21, Andrew's sharp eyes spotted the flare. The lifeboat's GPS (plotting system) was blocked out because of the weather, so Andrew quickly took a bearing from his compass. 'It was back to basics,' remembers Phil. Local knowledge as well as sound seamanship skills helped them judge where the yacht was. They estimated the yacht was about 3 miles away.

On their way, conditions restricted the Atlantic 2Ts speed to 10-12 knots (top speed 32 knots). The yachtsman tried two other flares. One misfired, but just as the lifeboat crested a wave Andrew caught sight of the last flare. Nearing the yacht the sea was confused, with the swell building to 4-5m. The lifeboat was pushed to the extreme and Andrew estimates they were tipped vertically two or three times.

The lifeboat crew knew the yacht was nearby, but they still couldn't see her until the yachtsmen shone a torch. Although conditions made it difficult to judge distance, the light was visibly closing.

Andrew monitored the depth of the water with the echo sounder as they closed on the yacht that was reportedly grounded.

At 2.45am the yacht was sighted about 20m away in a depth of over 10m. She was clearly not aground, but lying head to sea to her anchor. Andrew concluded that the yacht must have struck the Goodwin Sands quite hard but then luckily been bounced over the top by the weather.

Baptism of fire Andrew assessed the situation. He shouted to the two men on the yacht that he would put a crew member on board. Andrew knew it would be a difficult tow and decided Adam should make the jump, so Phil, an experienced seaman, could help on the lifeboat if necessary. Later Andrew praised the actions of Adarn who has only been a lifeboatman for a few years: 'As it was his first rough service, he did exceptionally well.' Andrew approached the yacht. With the help of the two experienced crew Adam jumped onto the yacht at the right time. He landed heavily: 'I rolled across the deck, ripping the aerial off the portable radio.' Adam was bruised, but otherwise not injured.

Andrew manoeuvred the lifeboat clear of the yacht. It took Adam only a few minutes to report back that the vessel was basically sound and that both men were all right. Adam prepared the yacht for a tow, but as the anchor could not be hauled, he had to cut the anchor line. The two yachtsmen did not have a knife on board, so Andrew had to take the lifeboat alongside once again to safely pass a knife to Adam. Once the anchor line was cut, the yacht swung round dangerously, tying broadside to the sea.

A difficult tow Andrew acted quickly, approaching the yacht's port bow, head to the sea Phil passed the tow rope to Adam, who secured it to the yacht's mast, the strongest point on the Tahi-Tahi. At around 3am Andrew began the tow with slow turn to port to bring the yacht to a more comfortable south westerly heading, towards Dover. Rough sea conditions made the tow difficult to maintain. Phil paid out the full length of the tow rope, so the yacht was a safe distance astern from the lifeboat. Once the tow was in progress Phil took the helm while Andrew updated the Coastguard and monitored the tow from the crew seat.

Throughout the passage the sea state was rough, with a 4m swell. Nearing Dover the conditions worsened with the backwash from the harbour wall making the seas more confused. There was no way of avoiding the rough stretch; they had to pass through it to get into the harbour. Andrew took the helm again. The yacht broached several times when hit by large waves and the lifeboat tipped up vertically three or four times, but they persevered. Phil remembers: 'It was just a case of ploughing through it.' Harbour found With permission to enter the harbour granted by Port Control, Andrew successfully negotiated the extremely rough conditions at the eastern entrance.

Once inside the harbour the sea subsided but it was still 'lumpy'. The lifeboat towed the yacht to the western breakwater where they secured the yacht alongsidethe Atlantic 21. They reached the reception area in the inner harbour at 4.25am.

The lifeboat crew were thanked by the yachtsmen. Despite being mentally and physically drained, the three men were prepared to return the lifeboat to station.

However, they were soon told that the sea state was too rough at Walmer to recover the lifeboat at that time. The crew openly admitted that they were relieved to get a lift back to Walmer in a comfortable car instead of a rough passage home by sea.

For this service Andrew receives the Thanks of the Institution on Vellum and Phil and Adam receive Vellum Service Certificates. Andrew was delighted with the outcome of the service - two lives being saved - and praised his crew: 'We worked well as a team.'They were pleased with the recognition they had got for the service, but all stressed that they didn't do it for that. Phil commented: 'The first thought when the pager goes off isn't "I may get an award", it's "Someone's in trouble".1Skill and determination end 11-day ordealTHE LIFEBOAT Trent class lifeboat ON-1205 Frederick Storey Cockburn Funding: Bequest of Frederick Storey Cockburn THE CREW Coxswain Dan O'Dwyer Crew members Michael O'Donovan Michael Hurley Vincent O'Donovan Liam Murphy Conor Dullea Chris Guy COURTMACSHERRY HARBOUR LIFEBOAT STATION Established: 1825 RNLI Medals: One Gold, four Silver and one Bronze THE CASUALTY Lone yachtsman on yacht Bowden THE CONDITIONS Weather Mainly dry, sunshine and showers Visibility: Good, reduced in showers Wind: Violent storm force 11 Sea state: Very high, 9m swellBeeps from several pagers interrupted Sunday mass in Courtmacsherry early on 1 December 2002. With a violent storm blowing outside the church the congregation and crew knew Lives could be in danger Trevor Wilson was on passage from Plymouth to Madeira when he encountered steering problems. He lost all power, including electrics, which left him with only a handheld radio to call for help.

Storms in the Bay of Biscay pounded the yacht and the yachtsman was injured, breaking three ribs in a fall. He ended up about 30 miles off the Cork coast after 11 gruelling days. A fit and able seaman, Trevor had needed all his skills and experience to survive the ordeal for so long.

Trevor remembers being 'mentally and physically shattered'. He was giving up hope of rescue when a French trawler picked up a faint message from his handheld radio and called the Coastguard for help. Courtmacsherry Harbour Trent class lifeboat launched at 10.18am. As soon as they were out of the harbour she hit the full force of the storm - winds gusting up to SOmph and 9-10m waves.

The lifeboat pitched and rolled heavily.

Visibility was generally good, but Mechanic Michael Hurley recalls that squalls meant they could not see out of the boat, even with the wipers going: 'It was like somebody had put curtains around the boat.1The Irish Coast Guard helicopter Rescue 115 was first on the scene. With no VHP communications from the yacht to help locate her, the lifeboat made her final approach to the casualty using VHF/DF bearings of the helicopter's transmissions.

It was soon after midday when the lifeboat reached the yacht. Trevor recalls his elation at the sight: To see that Lifeboat coming - the joy! - I'll keep it in my • mind forever.' Coxswain Dan O'Dwyer decided to get Trevor onto the lifeboat as quickly as possible by manoeuvring close enough to the yacht for Trevor to step onboard. In a 9m swell and high winds, this operation demanded great seamanship skills from Dan. The crew made the vital preparations. Michael stressed: 'Nothing could be left to chance on a day like that.' From 50m downwind Dan approached the yacht, manoeuvring the lifeboat close enough to the yacht for a lifebelt and rope to be passed successfully. This was a vital step in the rescue just in case anything went wrong with the transfer and Trevor fell into the water. The lifeboat approached again. With the starboard shoulder of the lifeboat close enough to the yacht's port beam, Trevor stepped across with the help of three crew members. Afterwards, Trevor praised his rescuers: 'They conducted the transfer most professionally and I had confidence in them.' The lifeboat pulled away and Trevor was taken down into the wheelhouse. The crew ascertained that Trevor had three broken ribs and a badly bruised arm from his fall in the Bay of Biscay storms, so airlifting Trevor to the helicopter was unwise. But before the lifeboat took him back to dry land, the crew made a valiant attempt to save Trevor's yacht Bowden.

Dan was unwilling to risk the life of a crew member by transferring someone onto the yacht to secure a proper tow, so they tried to tow the yacht by its anchor rope.

After 20 minutes of towing the rope broke and Bowden was abandoned. The lifeboat returned to the calm of Courtmacsherry Harbour. By 2.30pm, Trevor was safely back on dry land.

He was taken by ambulance to Cork University hospital.

Modest about their achievements, the crew were relieved everything had gone according to plan. Michael commented: 'It was a textbook evacuation: 1,2,3, job done.1 While Michael might make the rescue sound straightforward, the service has been recognised by the RNLI as being something out of the ordinary. A letter of appreciation from the RNLI Chairman was given to Dan in recognition of his skilful seamanship in difficult conditions. A collective letter from Operations Director Michael Vlasto was presented to the rest of the crew for their seamanship and determination.In the summer 2002 issue of the Lifeboat magazine, we included a write-up of the rescue of a sea angler who was swept into stormy seas on 2 February 2002 at Porthcawl in Wales.

To make the rescue, Helmsman Nicholas Beale and crew had braved 4m waves in Sandy Bay in winds of up to storm force 10. The crew on the Atlantic 75 spotted a man's head in the water and plucked an apparently lifeless Karl Meyrick from the sea. Against the odds, Karl survived the drama.

Nicholas has already been presented with the RNLI's Bronze Medal for Gallantry for his part in this brave rescue. Now he has also received the Walter and Elizabeth Groombridge award for 2002. The Porthcawl lifeboat is considered to have performed the most meritorious service by a B class lifeboat in 2002.

The RNLI's training divisional inspector for the West, Andy Hurley, says: 'I am very pleased that Helmsman Beale has been further recognised for his seamanship, courage and leadership, which along with his boat handling skills, led to a quick and successful rescue in appalling conditions.' The award consists of a pair of binoculars, fitted with a small inscribed plaque, presented to the helmsman.

Nicholas along with Crew Members Rick Rava and Steve Knipe will also receive framed certificates. A certificate for display in the Porthcawl boathouse will be given to the Lifeboat Operations Manager.Child resuscitated at Perran SandsA Beach Rescue lifeguard was patrolling between the red and yellow flags on a warm sunny day in Cornwall, when he spotted a woman waving frantically for help on the beach. Her young daughter had fallen into a tidal pool and had stopped breathingIt was a fairly busy day on Perran Sands beach on 20 June 2003 and Lifeguard Simon Crayfourd was monitoring around 20 bathers. He was also aware of what was happening on the beach around him. His sharp eyes spotted a woman waving around 50-75m from the water's edge. Simon actedquickly. He radioed Lifeguard Danny Morrison for help and medical equipment, and ran towards the woman.

Simon found a four-year-old girl, Lucy, unconscious by the side of a shallow pool.

Her family were on holiday and Lucy had been playing in the tidal pool when she had fallen over into water about 10cm deep. An alert member of the public had pulled the child out of the water.

Simon assessed the child's condition: 'Lucy was not breathing, but had a weak pulse. Her lips were blue and her eyes glazed over.'With no delay, Simon began to clear Lucy's airway.

Meanwhile Danny radioed Senior Lifeguard Mark Evans, then gathered the medical equipment and ran 150m from the Beach Rescue facility to the casualty. He reached Lucy soon after Simon. Mark, who had been checking the beach further down on a quad, arrived at about the same time.

Simon recalled: 'The response time was excellent, especially from Danny, who was on foot with the equipment.'When Mark arrived he took charge, as senior lifeguard.

Mark attempted two rescue breaths but Lucy's airway was still blocked. He rolled her onto her side to administer five firm back slaps and then tried two more rescue breaths. Lucy showed signs of life by coughing up fluid and starting to cry.

Simon says: 'I will never forget the moment Lucy took her first breath - that was an amazing feeling because I knew at that point we had saved her life.' Mark and Simon placed Lucy in the recovery position and Danny gave her oxygen. Mark held Lucy's hand and tried to comfort her. The lifeguards also reassured the parents.

The lifeguards had all received first responder training, a high level medical qualification for those who are first on the scene at an accident. Simon commented: 'The training allowed me to approach the situation with a clear mind and stopped me from making poor decisions due to panicking.' Greg Spray, Area Lifeguard Manager (Carrick), praised the actions of the lifeguards: 'Everything went right. They had the trauma of the resuscitation of a young child and a blockage to make things worse.

They were brilliant.' While Lucy was being treated, Lifeguard Supervisor Andy Thomas called 999 for the ambulance. Within 10 minutes of the call, the Cornwall Air Ambulance arrived and took Lucy and her mother to Treliske hospital Andy informed the Coastguard of the incident and then drove the rest of the family to the hospital.

A few days after the incident, the family returned to the beach with a healthy Lucy to thank the lifeguards. Lucy held Mark's hand and Marie recalled the last time that happened when he had just saved her life: 'I held Lucy's hand to reassure her when she came round after stopping breathing. It made me think back to that time.' Following this life saving work, the lifeguards turned up to work that weekend to find that the Beach Rescue facility had been broken into. The thieves stole four hand-held VHF radios and a pair of binoculars. It's a sobering thought to realise that if the burglars had stolen the equipment a couple of days earlier, their act could have had fatal consequences for Lucy.High and dry on the Solway Firth From the shifting sand and mud banks of the Solway Firth, the grounded yacht Susiila radioed for help. It took a joint service by Workington and Silloth Lifeboats to locate the yacht and find a way to reach her in shallows only 2m deepTHE SILLOTH LIFEBOAT Atlantic 75 B-714 Spirit of Cumbria Funding: The new Silloth lifeboat appeal and the Lake District branch centenary appeal THE WORKINGTON LIFEBOAT Tyne class lifeboat ON-1141 Sir John Fisher Funding: The Sir John Fisher Foundation SILLOTH LIFEBOAT STATION Established: First established 1860, closed 1896. Re-established 1967 WORKINGTON LIFEBOAT STATION Established: First established 1886, closed 1905. Re-established 1948 RNLI Medals: One Bronze Medal 1974 THE CASUALTY Crew of two on the 8.5m yacht Susiila THE CONDITIONS Weather: Rain showers Visibility: Moderate, dark Wind: Force 7-8 Sea state: Moderate to roughThe crew of two on the stricken yacht Susiila were unsure of their position, but soon after launching at 9.25pm on 26 November 2002 the Workington lifeboat made radio contact with the casualty and discovered that the yacht was to the north of the station. It was an uncomfortable passage in southerly winds of force 7-8 and with the tide ebbing, the sand banks of the Solway Firth made navigation difficult. Coming from the south the lifeboat crew couldn't see the yacht, which was hidden behind a horseshoe-shaped sand bank. The casualty fired a red flare at 10.17pm to help the lifeboat locate them.

As the Tyne got further north the waters began to shoal, so Coxswain John Stobbart requested the launch of the Silloth inshore lifeboat to assist with the search in shallow water. Sitloth's Atlantic 75 lifeboat launched at 10.38pm with Helmsman Steven Henderson in command, with two other crew members.

The crew spotted the casualty immediately as they had a clear view from the north. Steven recalls:'My main concern was that it was low water. Due to the ever-shifting sand banks in the Solway Firth it can be a real headache simply finding water, which is even more difficult at night.' For much of the passage the Atlantic 75 was in less than 2m of water.

Both lifeboats approached Susilta. The Workington all weather lifeboat was first to arrive, but she ran aground 50m from the casualty. Soon after this the Silloth inshore lifeboat got to within 20m before she too grounded.

Meanwhile the casualty was regularly being slammed on the seabed. With a 3m swell breaking over the bank and yacht, there was a real danger that the yacht could founder at any time. If it did, there was little chance that either lifeboat could assist quickly. At this stage all three vessels were aground.

John decided to try an alternative method to reach the casualty. He attempted to veer the X boat down onto the yacht. However, the effect of the tidal stream rounding the bank meant that the X boat was thrown off course. The inshore lifeboat picked up John and the X boat.

John remained in the inshore lifeboat and encouraged Steven to reach the casualty.

Steven remembers: 'On several occasions the Atlantic hit the seabed, was filled to the top of the sponson and had both motors swamped. Despite this, the Atlantic performed brilliantly.' At 11.20pm they finally reached the casualty and John transferred onto the yacht.

The inshore lifeboat stood off and then Steven made another difficult approach down sea. The lifeboat manoeuvred alongside the yacht and the man was transferred quickly. With both Susilla and the Atlantic pitching and rolling heavily, this was no easy task. The crew helped the woman on board the inshore lifeboat. Steven later summarised the service: The sea conditions, shallow water, darkness and the urgency of the situation made this the most difficult and demanding service call I've ever been involved in.'Steven manoeuvred into deeper water and the two were transferred to the all weather lifeboat along with John. Steven remembers the transfer of the yacht's crew from the swamped Atlantic: 'They were waist deep in water ... I can only imagine how pleased they must have been to reach the shelter of the all weather lifeboat's cabin.' The all weather lifeboat remained aground until around 12.30am, but the couple were made comfortable in the main cabin. On way back theTyne got stuck on another uncharted bank for 45 mins, but they were back safely at Workington at 3am.

The sea conditions, shallow water, darkness and the urgency of the situation made this the most difficult and demanding service call I've ever been involved in.' The inshore lifeboat stood by the yacht, which refloated around midnight. Peter Gilmour and Adam Pearson boarded the yacht and set up the tow and took the Susilla back to Silloth, arriving at 1.15am.

Helmsman Steven Henderson received a Chairman's letter of ( thanks for his skilful boat handling and cool judgement under trying circumstances. Coxswain John Stobbart received a Chief Executive's letter in recognition of his selfless actions and determination. John praised the teamwork of the two crews involved and Steven commented: 'The success of this service is testament to the design, build and maintenance of our lifeboat fleet and the training of our crews for which the RNLI can be proud.'.