Never off duty The crew of Lytham St Annes were on passage from Ramsey on the Isle of Man on 1 February, collecting the relief Mersey class lifeboat Margaret Jean, when they intercepted a telephone conversation between the Coastguard and a Belgian fishing vessel. The lifeboat was alongside within 20 minutes for a medical emergency. In rough seas, Second Coxswain John Atkinson manoeuvred the lifeboat close to the casualty and Second Mechanic Gary Bird jumped aboard, treated a badly injured man and prepared him for winching to a helicopter..