RNLI in action This quarter’s highlights of the many hundreds of lifeboat launches and lifeguard incidents around the UK and Republic of Ireland Month of mudness Helmsman ‘Tommo’Thompson and crew from Exmouth, Devon, rescued two 14-year-olds on 9 July 2006. The teenagers were caught in ankle-deep mud with the incoming tide already up to their waists. A week later Weston-super-Mare’s D class Faith (pictured) went to the aid of a sunburned and dehydrated couple stuck on mud banks . The following day, Burnham-on-Sea in Somerset’s Global Marine spotted five 10–15-year-old Hungarian holidaymakers swimming from the beach to Stert Island at low tide. Despite being caked in mud, they were completely unaware of the danger they were in.

One mechanic and his Y boat Full-time Mechanic Karl Bigwood was busy working aboard Walton and Frinton’s lifeboat when a canoe capsized nearby. It was 13 February and bitterly cold. Realising there was no time to lose, he set off in the station’s inflatable Y boat and arrived to find two 15-year-old boys balanced on top of the upturned craft and a third hanging on in the water. Karl pulled them all onboard, attached the canoe and brought them all ashore.

Force of three Three RNLI rescue craft (Wells’s Mersey class Doris M Mann of Ampthill, Hunstanton’s B class DJS Haverhill and The Hunstanton Flyer hovercraft) assisted several capsized dinghies caught out by a freak squall on 22 July 2006. The wind developed from a light breeze to force 8–9 in seconds, during a club regatta off the Norfolk coast.

Between a rock and an angry sea Rock inshore lifeboat and RNLI lifeguards at Polzeath, Cornwall, rescued three people from a capsized catamaran on 31 July 2006.

A man and two teenage boys were stuck on rocks surrounded by crashing waves. The lifeguards’ inshore rescue boat proved invaluable as, thanks to skilled boathandling and the craft’s smaller size, it was able to get very close to the casualties. The teenage boys were almost frozen with fear but showed great faith in their rescuers when asked to jump into the sea before being pulled aboard. The catamaran was unsalvageable.

Tower of smoke Crew on the River Thames found themselves on a particularly dramatic shout on 9 August 2006. As Tower lifeboat came alongside, smoke was rising from the 11m cabin cruiser Jenna, under tow by The Thames Challenger.

They discovered she was carrying butane gas bottles. They swiftly took seven of the casualties onboard.With two people still to be rescued, the fire became so fierce that the tow had to be broken leaving Jenna to drift in the wind. Over the next few minutes there were two explosions, the second creating a fireball that wrecked the vessel. Stormbound off Barra The skipper remembers: ‘Suddenly we were both awake but dizzy; I was wounded but clear of mind, and I put out a pan pan call.’ Now it was down to Coxswain MacLeod and his crew to brave the storm and go to the yacht Vijaya’s aid Despite the date, 21 June 2006, it certainly wasn’t Summer-like at the foot of Scotland’s Western Isles archipelago. Heavy rain was battering land and sea. The Isle of Barra was playing host to 38 yachts taking part in a round-Britain and Ireland race. In the island’s village capital of Castlebay, many of the racers were taking one of their four compulsory two-day stops. Severe gales and heavy seas hammered into the yachts at anchor and yachtsmen were kept busy as the barometer reading plunged. Pete Goss, one of the competitors, described conditions as: ‘worse than the Roaring Forties in the Southern Ocean’.

Some of the leading yachts had already set off on the next leg of the race to Lerwick, Shetland. The 12m Vijaya was amongst them, her two crew exhausted by 24 hours of atrocious weather. Trying to grab a couple of hours sleep, they were suddenly woken, being flung around the cabin. The Dutch skipper, Huib Swets, realised afterwards: ‘We’d been hit by a huge wave from the port side and our yacht turned tail over head, 100° to the starboard side.’ The force of the breaking wave was so strong that the mast went underwater; the welding on the plates attached to the rigging broke; and the mast spreaders were pushed inwards, slackening the rigging and putting the mast in danger of collapse. The wind instruments and navigation lights were washed away, the VHF radio aerial damaged, and the radar scanner bent. There was also structural damage to the keel and 400 litres of water had dumped into the main cabin, wrecking much of the inside, including all the electronic navigational aids. Huib had sustained a badly gashed forehead and injured shoulder: ‘Suddenly we were both awake but dizzy; I was wounded but clear of mind, and I put out a pan pan call for assistance.’ ‘PAN PAN, PAN PAN, PAN PAN All stations, all stations, all stations This is yacht Vijaya,Vijaya,Vijaya My position is 57° 10.7’N 007° 53.3’W I have been knocked down and require urgent assistance please.’ A pan pan call is made when there is an emergency onboard but there is no immediate danger to anyone's life or to the vessel itself. This is distinct from a Mayday call, when there is imminent danger to life or to the continued viability of the vessel itself. Stornoway Coastguard picked up the call and requested the launch of the Barra Island lifeboat. It was 8.37am as the pagers went off. The Mechanic was already at the station, some crew members and the Coxswain were at home, while others were starting their various jobs. Only the previous day they had been out for nearly six hours in force 8 winds assisting two other yachts. The volunteers had even helped with yacht repairs, well into evening, so they had had little rest.

As the crew mustered Coxswain Donald MacLeod telephoned the Coastguard to get more details before launching: he needed to decide the best route out to the yacht and back.

Donald explains: ‘The conditions weren’t the worst we’d ever been out in but we knew, because of the shallow areas we’d be in, that the height of the swell and breaking waves would make it very dangerous. Only time served out on the sea in the local patch can give you the kind of knowledge that’s just second nature.’ Coxswain MacLeod was concerned that the yacht might head for the Sound of Barra as the shortest route to safety. A warning by radio was impossible because of the terrain, and Donald was reluctant to take the lifeboat through the Sound but it was critical to intercept Vijaya before she made such an attempt. RNLI Training Divisional Inspector Paul Jennings comments: ‘If the yacht had gone through the Sound of Barra it would have been extremely dangerous and could easily have resulted in the loss of the yacht and her crew.’ The Severn class Edna Windsor, with Coxswain MacLeod in command and five experienced crew members onboard, slipped from her moorings at Castlebay at 8.53am.

As they made their way to the east of the Island, the lifeboat was sheltered from the wind and swell so they were able to go at full speed, although heavy showers meant visibility was less than half a mile. It didn’t take long, however, for things to deteriorate as the lifeboat made her way up the east side and out of the lee. As they approached the Sound of Barra, the wind was exceeding severe gale force 9. ‘It was a huge relief to get them through the Sound. For a while we were really in the thick of it and in the space of a few moments we could have lost them. Just five minutes later we knew they were safe. It was an overwhelming feeling of relief.’ Coxswain Donald MacLeod There are three known routes through the Sound and the one to choose would depend on the sea state, tide and weather.

Donald’s uncle’s house overlooks the Sound so Donald called his father and asked him if he would go over to check which route he should take. After a short time, their exchange went (in their first language, Gaelic): ‘Caimar a tha i?’ (How is it?), ‘Tha i cho dona `s chi thu I’ (It’s as bad as it gets).

The Atlantic Ocean swell was reaching 10–11m and breaking through the Sound for 2 miles.

As the lifeboat passed to the north of Fuday Island, the change in terrain finally made possible VHF radio contact with Vijaya.

Mechanic Angus MacNeil gave a course for the yacht to take towards the southern tip of the Isle of Barra and the Sound of Sandray.

The lifeboat entered the shallow waters of the Sound of Barra and she was forced to reduce speed from 24 to 5 knots.Waves of 10–11m were breaking over the lifeboat so Donald ordered his crew to strap themselves into their seats – an order he didn’t withdraw until three hours later.

The volunteers were in for a dangerously rough passage. Heading upwind through the Sound, with steep breaking waves, was extremely painful for both the lifeboat and crew. Occasionally, the lifeboat launched off the crest of one wave before crashing down into the trough of the next, sending shockwaves the length of the lifeboat.

At last, the lifeboat emerged into deeper water, with less-frequently breaking waves, and was able to increase speed to 12 knots.

Regular communication with Vijaya allowed them to plot their course but when Second Coxswain Lachlan Douglas actually saw the yacht, at 10.34am, Deputy Second Coxswain Ranald MacLean realised that the lifeboat’s electronic chart plotter had given them false information. To their dismay, they would have to continue the rescue without the use of any navigational aids: the electronic system was clearly malfunctioning but the movement of the lifeboat made the use of a paper chart impossible; and the radar was unreliable due to the height of the waves.

Vijaya’s mast and rigging seemed to be holding up and, with the smallest amount of storm sail up, the yacht was making 6 knots towards the Sound of Sandray. Escorting the yacht through this channel is described by one of the lifeboat crew as: ‘the shortest of the four evils!’ Donald considers: ‘You would only want to go through this if it was a life or death situation and I knew that for the crew of Vijaya it was. If they had lost their mast or keel at that moment there would have been no room for manoeuvre: they would have been driven onto the shore. Everyone was holding their breath.’ It was important for the yacht to follow the lifeboat as closely as possible so Coxswain MacLeod slowed considerably in spite of the danger that this would bring the lifeboat broadside to the waves. Crew Member Michael MacNeil was keeping a look out behind so that the lifeboat neither got too far in front nor was run down.

At 11.45am one of the crew shouted: ‘Hold on!’A mountainous wave slammed into the lifeboat and knocked her over 100° to port, plunging the wheelhouse under the water.

The vent casings cracked in three places, part of the toe rail on the deck lifted, the ‘A’ frame ropes were carried away and two of the liferaft canisters cracked. Thankfully none of the crew was injured, still strapped into their seats.

Remarkably, Donald managed to maintain the lifeboat’s position and led the yacht through the Sound of Sandray, round the island of Vatersay and back into Castlebay, where a doctor was able to board Vijaya and attend to her injured skipper.

Huib couldn’t thank the lifeboat crew enough: ‘The RNLI is a top service!’ The Coxswain and crew of the Barra Island lifeboat had come through one of their toughest tests. Paul Jennings explains: ‘Using considerable local knowledge, experience, nerve and skill, volunteer Coxswain Donald MacLeod piloted the lifeboat through particularly dangerous waters, in appalling conditions, to escort the yacht through narrow approaches without the use of navigational aids. His command, leadership and initiative directly resulted in the saving of two lives.’ Donald is to receive the RNLI’s Bronze Medal for Gallantry at the RNLI’s Annual Presentation of Awards in May 2007 (see Listings for details of how to attend).

Donald responds: ‘The crew calmly supported me throughout, ensuring the service was completed flawlessly despite the adverse weather. The lifeboat performed outstandingly and just excelled herself: there was never a time when we were concerned for our own safety.’When asked how he felt about his award, Donald simply says:‘Shocked!’ In spite of the damage sustained by the lifeboat, she was back ready for service again by 1pm with all repairs being made at station over a period of time. Children in need Family fun on the coast almost took a turn for the worse for many last Summer ¦ A family were enjoying paddling in kneedeep water at Porthtowan Beach, Cornwall, on 11 July 2006 when a set of waves knocked the 9-year-old girl off her feet and swept her out to deep water. As the horrified parents looked on helplessly, Lifeguard John Craze quickly recovered their daughter.

¦ It was 1 August 2006 and just four days into his role, when 18-year-old volunteer Lifeguard Jason Wheeler saved a 10-year-old from a rip current at Perran Sands, Cornwall.

The conditions had just reached ‘red flag’ status (too dangerous to swim) when Jason spotted a small head bobbing out to sea. He grabbed his rescue board and swam out to the exhausted and very frightened child. In just two minutes he had saved a life.

¦ When a 6-year-old boy and his inflatable were swept out and around the coast at Harlyn, Cornwall, on 30 August 2006, his mother reacted instinctively and, despite being a weak swimmer, went in after him.

They were a long way outside the lifeguarded area but luckily a member of the public raised the alarm. In the minutes it took Lifeguards Alex Allen and Steve Pawson to arrive in the inshore rescue boat, the mother was desperately trying to stay afloat and swallowing a lot of water. Fortunately the boy had managed to keep hold of his inflatable and they were both returned to shore without serious injury.

¦ A family visiting Courtown, Co.Wexford, narrowly escaped tragedy when their three-year-old son was dashed against rocks on a run-away personal watercraft on 6 August 2006. The boy had been ‘out for a spin’ with his dad but as the father dismounted and turned around to take hold of his son, the toddler accidentally hit the accelerator and the craft sped off. Courtown lifeboat crew rushed to the scene to give first aid and comfort the boy’s distraught mother. Despite head injuries, the boy later made a full recovery. Three services, four volunteers, and a surfer Held back by the surf, a father watched helplessly as his family and friends were swept away – but a surprising amount of help was at hand Enjoying some late Summer sun, brothers Ryan (11) and Scott (10) and their friend Zac (13) were playing in the sea at Hayle Towans, near Black Cliff. Their two families, from Banbury, Oxfordshire, were on holiday together at this unlifeguarded beach. They were oblivious to the dangers. The tide was going out but the boys were only knee deep in the water and felt completely safe.

Suddenly, they were knocked right off their feet by three successive large waves and completely overpowered by the force of a rip current, which rapidly dragged them out to deeper water.

Back on the beach, Ryan and Scott’s father, Rob, looked up to see the three boys in the distance and screaming for help.

Naturally, he ran in after them but was immediately beaten back by the strong waves. Family friend Kevin Matthews rushed to help and somehow managed to fight his way through the surf. By now, the alarm had been raised and the Coastguard tasked a volunteer lifeguard from a local lifesaving club, the St Ives inshore lifeboat and a rescue helicopter from RNAS Culdrose (see page 8) to attempt to save the boys.

Other beachgoers now got involved, including a visiting surfer from South Africa, Mark, who entered the water and swam out on his board. He found Kevin with Zac and paddled the terrified boy back to shore.

Kevin stayed in the sea and turned his attention to helping the next child but he was no match for the tidal current, which sent Scott racing past him out of reach.

Mark returned and, as he pulled Scott onto his board, the lifeguard, Barney, also arrived on scene. He was driving a rescue watercraft (RWC) and was able to lift the now exhausted Kevin onboard and take him to safety. Two of the children and the adult were now back on dry land but where was the third child, Ryan? The D class Spirit of RCT arrived with Robert Cocking at the helm and Crew Members Scott Perkin and Dave Stamp. As they began their search, surf broke over and into the lifeboat. ‘Hayle is a treacherous place, known for capsized boats and big seas,’ explains Robert, ‘so we had to be careful.’With no sighting after a minute, the crew called for St Ives’s Mersey class The Princess Royal to be launched too.

Moments later, however, the three volunteers in the lifeboat and the fourth on the RWC were relieved to spot Ryan half a mile out to sea. They lost no time in reaching him. ‘He was completely shaken up – scared and cold,’ Robert recalls. The helicopter was already on hand, a winchman descended and Ryan was carefully handed over for a swift transfer to shore.

Throughout all this fast-moving action, Rob could do nothing more than look on as his children were rescued. He says:‘My mouth just went dry. My only thought was what their mother would say. I wished it was me out there, not them.’The boys explained afterwards that two of them had been able to see each other when the waves allowed but that Scott had been totally alone in the sea:‘We were petrified.’ With everyone now out of the water, Robert performed an emergency beach landing and went to check them over on shore. The helicopter had landed on the beach and was joined by an ambulance. It was Kevin who was suffering most from his selfless endeavours. ‘We had to carry him to the helicopter. He was delirious and couldn’t walk’, Robert explains. Although the four casualties were all exhausted and suffering from hypothermia, there were no other injuries, and they were all discharged from hospital after a few hours.

The next day, realising how truly fortunate they were, the holidaymakers came back to St Ives to personally thank everyone who had come to their aid. Robert says: ‘It was a really nice surprise to see them – everyone was there.’ .