PAGe tItLe RescUe FIVe ALIVe two miles from land, a group of kayakers was at the mercy of gale force offshore winds. How could they summon help and how long could they stay afloat? mairéad Dwane reports tHe DetAIL insHORe LiFeBOat B-789 Sure and Steadfast On station: 2002 Funding: Funded by the Boys’ Brigade Crew: Helmsman scott Wiltshire, (37, marine construction superintendent), matthew Preston, (28, marine construction coxswain) stuart Henderson, (25, marine construction deckhand) aLL-WeatHeR LiFeBOat seVeRn CLass On-1202 (17-03) Albert Brown – the fi rst severn class lifeboat to be placed on operational service On station: 1996 Funding: Bequest from the late Victoria maisie Brown in memory of her late husband Crew: Full-time Coxswain Paul smith (46) second Coxswain John teatheredge (49, pilot boat coxswain), Brendon shaw (32, design engineer), Glen Davis (41, relief pilot boat coxswain), simon Benham (32, printer), stuart Vincent (31, motor technician), Deputy mechanic stephen amner (36, electrical mechanical engineer), elliot Kemp (35, police offi cer) a distressed father on the shoreline made the call that would save his son’s life. it was 18 march and he could see the boy and fellow canoe club members getting into diffi culty just outside the estuary of the River Deben, suffolk. in response, thames Coastguard requested the help of Harwich’s inshore lifeboat, Sure and Steadfast.

she would be best designed to search along the surf line but the conditions were more than challenging. With scott Wiltshire at the helm, she launched at 12.32pm.

seeing the north-westerly winds averaging force 9 and whipping up the sea, full-time Coxswain Paul smith (pictured) decided to launch the severn class all-weather lifeboat too: ‘after initial disbelief that children were out in kayaks under the instruction of adults in such winds, my thoughts quickly reverted to the requirements of the service, and i decided to launch Albert Brown to support Sure and Steadfast and assist in the search and casualty handling.

‘the weather was well within the capability of the severn class, but my concern was for the safety of the inshore lifeboat crew. the height of the severn is also an asset when searching for people in the water in big seas.’ Just 10 minutes after launching, in seas up to 4m high, Sure and Steadfast found two people in the water, a man aged 63 and a boy aged 12, clinging onto their kayaks. they had gone out to sea for adventure training – without fl ares, radios or checking the weather forecast. they were hauled aboard.

two more kayakers were spotted further inshore. scott set off towards them, while his crew assessed the fi rst casualties. they were worried about the 63-year-old, who was responsive but clearly in need of medical attention.

scott remembers: ‘With one semi-conscious hypothermic casualty onboard, the child made it known to us that his brother was still missing.

this required some quick thinking and diffi cult decision making.’ He fi nally decided to transfer the pair to the all-weather lifeboat, from which they could be airlifted to hospital. He radioed the Coastguard to request helicopter assistance and then coordinated the manoeuvre with Paul.

some of Albert Brown’s crew members warmed up the two patients in the slightly more comfortable conditions below deck, while others set about picking up the second pair of survivors, a man aged 51 and a 14-year-old boy, who were in much better shape. the search was now on for the one remaining member of the group.

Sure and Steadfast began scouring the shallow waters of the surf line about 200m from the shore. the third child was soon spotted. He had been separated from his kayak, and was brought aboard before also being transferred to Albert Brown. all fi ve kayakers were now onboard the all-weather lifeboat, and it was confi rmed that the whole group had been accounted for.

the RaF’s rescue helicopter from Wattisham airfi eld was now overhead, and the fi rst two casualties to be plucked from the water were winched aboard – no mean feat in the challenging conditions. the others stayed onboard Albert Brown, ‘shocked, frightened and understandably concerned for their colleagues and themselves’, according to Paul.

an ambulance was waiting as they arrived back at the lifeboat station, just an hour after launching. the group’s kayaks were also kindly brought ashore on the all-weather lifeboat.

at stages during the rescue, winds of storm force 10 were recorded. Harwich Lifeboat Press Offi cer Keith Churchman comments: ‘these kayaks were only about 1m long and really meant for boating lakes, so we are relieved there was a happy ending.’ in recognition of their skill, determination, sound decision-making, hard work and foresight, the Coxswain and volunteers involved were formally thanked by the RnLi’s Chief executive and Operations Director.

in his own letter of thanks, one survivor wrote: ‘after being in the sea for 45 minutes, cold and exhausted, you start to wonder if you can hold on much longer. so you can imagine the feeling of relief when i saw the lifeboat speeding towards us.’ ‘after being in the sea for 45 minutes, cold and exhausted, you start to wonder if you can hold on much longer.’ .