rescue Insight Here is just a handful of incidents from 2007 from around the UK and RoI to give an insight into the thousands of lifeboat rescues carried out each year. See pages 20–27 for rescues marked . 1 freeD frOm rOPeS aS water riSeS A 15-year-old boy was fi shing on a small beach in Tyne and Wear on 14 September when he decided to wade into the water to have a closer look at a moored boat. He got entangled in some mooring ropes and was not able to free himself. The tide was rising and the water was cold. Two passers-by spotted him and raised the alarm at the nearby Tynemouth lifeboat station. The crew freed the boy and pulled him onboard their infl atable. He was not injured and, after being warmed up at the lifeboat station, made his own way home. 2 maN reSCUeD aND DrUg DeBriS CleareD When a RIB capsized off Mizen Head at 5am on 3 July, one of her crew swam ashore saying that two others had been onboard. Castletownbere’s Severn class lifeboat found one man fl oating in the water near the upturned boat, surrounded by white-wrapped bales. His condition was poor but he was revived by the lifeboat crew’s fi rst aid and transferred to the Coast Guard helicopter. Baltimore’s Tyne class lifeboat helped search for the third man. The bales were found to contain cocaine, and the Baltimore lifeboat (shown inset) later collected around 60 while clearing the debris, before handing them over to Revenue offi cers and gardaí. 3 BeaCh firSt aiD fOr all ageS RNLI lifeguards on Sandymouth Beach in Cornwall saved the life of a man in his 80s who suffered a heart attack on 7 September. The man’s wife was carrying out CPR when the lifeguards arrived. They restarted his heart with a defi brillator. He was given oxygen and put in the recovery position. The lifeguards then had to clear the beach for the air ambulance. A few weeks beforehand, RNLI lifeguards on Porth beach in Restormel had given fi rst aid to an 8-month-old baby who had been sleeping in a beach shelter that was swamped by a wave from the incoming tide. 4 wOrSeNiNg weather CreateS PrOBlemS ? ? Hayling Island’s Atlantic 75 lifeboat Betty Battle was launched to help two struggling windsurfers on 19 May. The wind had increased to force 6 and many craft were having diffi culties. One windsurfer made his own way ashore and the other was brought in by the lifeboat, which then went to a capsized RIB that was a hazard to other water users. Two of the volunteers secured a tow rope before climbing onto the hull and turning her the right way up using momentum from the waves and their own weight. 5 fiShermeN PlUCKeD frOm liferaft Three fi shermen were rescued by Wick’s Trent class Roy Barker II on 21 October, half an hour after abandoning their sinking vessel 10 miles north east of the town. The Proli? c was taking on large amounts of water, and the boat’s pump could not cope. The skipper alerted the Coastguard, and the crew, donning their lifejackets, took to the liferaft. They were in good condition when the lifeboat picked them up and declined to be brought ashore by an RAF helicopter. Half an hour later, those onboard watched Proli? c go under. The lifeboat crew retrieved the debris before bringing the fi shermen back to shore and their relieved families. 6 Oil ONBOarD A 27m boat on lease to the Ministry of Defence hit submerged rocks and began to sink at 11am on 20 August. When Holyhead’s Christopher Pearce arrived, the crew had already been airlifted to safety by helicopter, but tonnes of oil onboard the vessel, which was taking on water and listing 30°, posed a pollution threat.

The lifeboat crew used salvage pumps to try to refl oat her. As conditions worsened, with force 6 winds starting to blow, another pump was brought aboard and the crew began to win the battle. She was fi nally towed into harbour before 6pm. rescue In for the long haul The yacht Paka’a was returning across the Channel from Cherbourg, on the evening of 27 May 2007, when her auxiliary engine began to fail The weather was appalling – against the 50–60 knot headwinds and torrential rain, the limping 10m yacht could not make headway. Fearing for their lives, her nauseated crew, Frank Barrett and Robert Keillor, wisely called for assistance and Selsey’s all-weather lifeboat Voluntary Worker launched at 9.45pm.

Coxswain Martin Rudwick knew he and his crew were in for a long night. Powering through the 3m swell, it took the Tyne class an hour to reach the stricken vessel, nearly 20 miles to the south west. By now, it was pitch dark and the storm was hammering them at a brutal storm force 10. But the radio direction fi nding equipment onboard proved true and the Paka’a’s navigation lights glinted through the blinding rain.

The lifeboat began to escort the casualty towards Chichester Harbour, guiding her through the safest course, but a further hour of the Paka’a’s struggling only saw her pushed west towards the rocky shoreline of the Isle of Wight. They were getting nowhere and a tow was the only solution.

Second Coxswain Willy Pledger tried to board the Paka’a with a towline, but the turbulent sea had other ideas. The yacht’s course was uncontrollable and there was a high risk of the two vessels colliding violently, perhaps even crushing Willy between them – the attempt was reluctantly aborted. Instead, despite his extreme fear, the Paka’a’s skipper negotiated his wildly pitching foredeck himself, securing a line thrown from the lifeboat.

But conditions were growing ever worse and, although the 14m Tyne had the strength needed for the task, the straining tow did not, and the line soon parted – and the skipper disappeared! To the crew, fearing him lost to the sea, the 10 minutes it took to return to the yacht seemed interminable; thankfully, he reappeared, safe onboard.

Martin now altered course north west towards the Isle of Wight, in the hope of gaining some shelter via the cliffs at Dunnose Head. At around 1.20am, Willy succeeded in his second attempt to board the yacht, and the towline was made fast. The alternative would have been to abandon the Paka’a to the storm. The lifeboat and her charge turned once more directly into the wind, for a slow but steady progress to Chichester. Throughout, the crew took turns illuminating the Paka’a (to check she remained connected and upright) and sheltering from the cold in the wheelhouse. As dawn broke they were 6 miles from shore and allowed themselves to think the worst was over but, at 4.45am and just 1 mile out, the tow parted yet again. This time, however, daylight was on their side and Willy’s repeat of the diffi cult and dangerous reconnection proved secure.

Harbour was reached at 7am although, disappointingly, it was still too rough to continue to the intended destination of Sparkes Marina. The dependable Voluntary Worker slogged on a further 2 miles until at last the safe water of Itchenor was reached.

At 7.45am, the Paka’a’s crew gratefully berthed at the visitors’ jetty.

The exhausted lifeboat crew arrived back at station close to 9am, 11 long and arduous hours after launching. The stamina of the men had been stretched almost to breaking point, but despite their bruises they were elated at the success of the tough service. Martin comments: ‘I want to praise and thank my crew for their efforts and the RNLI for providing the fi rst-class equipment to make us feel safe and confi dent throughout the service.’ As for their rescuees, they could not have been more thankful for their deliverance. See their letter to Martin on page 51. THE DETAIL ALL-WEATHER LIFEBOAT TYNE CLASS ON-1146 Voluntary Worker On station at Selsey: 25 February 2006 (previously relief ? eet 1988, Lytham St Annes 1988–90, relief ? eet 1990–2006) Funding: Volvo Car UK Limited Crew: Full-time Coxswain Martin Rudwick (52), Second Coxswain William Pledger (53, ? sherman), full-time Mechanic Geoff Mellett (54), Max Gilligan (51, steel fabricator), Colin Pullenger (40, steel worker), Phil Pitham (27, retained ? re? ghter, joiner), James Albery (24, ? sh sales worker) GENTLY DOES IT A crash between a personal watercraft and a powerboat left a 16-year-old boy in agony, needing urgent but careful attention Aberdovey lifeboat crew were just back from a call out to a kitesurfer when they were asked by radio to launch again, in the early afternoon of 22 August 2007. With good visibility and fair conditions, the Atlantic 75 Sandwell Lifeline reached Aberdovey estuary, Gwynedd, within minutes, with volunteer Phil Bresnen at the helm.

The lifeboatmen found a boy in the water; conscious, but in a lot of pain in his lower back and sides. Phil remembers he was in danger of going into shock and was ‘fairly vocal’.

Luckily, a man on a safety boat from the local yacht club had done the right thing by keeping him afloat and waiting for assistance rather than trying to drag him onboard. Crew Member Ed Davies now entered the water to assess the teenager’s condition and to support him, both physically and mentally.

Suspecting back injuries, the crew needed to get the boy onto a stretcher, into the lifeboat and back to land for expert medical attention. The slightest jolt could lead to long-term damage.

With Ed still in the water, the crew deployed a stretcher and carefully floated the teenager onto it. Ed strapped him in while Crew Member Nick Greatbatch deflated the sponson at the back of the lifeboat to bring the floor of the vessel almost level with the water. Sea conditions were moderate, so the crew were able to slide the stretcher smoothly onboard.

Once inside the lifeboat station, ambulance personnel tended to the casualty and waited for a helicopter to transfer him to hospital.

The Coastguard helped clear a packed Aberdovey beach for the arrival of the air ambulance, but the helicopter found itself unable to help as the lifeboat stretcher wouldn’t fit inside. Moving the boy off of the stretcher was out of the question as it might aggravate his injuries. One of the air ambulance crew stayed to give medical help and the helicopter left the beach, empty handed. Within minutes, back up arrived in the form of an RAF rescue helicopter.

To the awe of the spectators, the larger helicopter landed safely on the beach, took in the boy on the stretcher and airlifted him to Bangor hospital.

The teenager was found to have compressed vertebrae and severe bruising and had to rest in bed for weeks. But it was thanks to the lifeboat crew’s gentle handling, and skilful teamwork with other organisations, that no lasting effects are anticipated. Ed and his fellow volunteers were delighted that everything had gone so smoothly: ‘It was the best result there could have been – no long-term damage to the boy.’ ‘Our challenge was to keep the injured boy as still as possible, to minimise trauma.’ Crew Member Ed Davies rescue A STERN TEST Inshore lifeboats are equipped with powerful engines to reach casualties quickly, but many rescues call for some strong handiwork too. Rory Stamp reports The skipper knew it wouldn’t be easy to get his yacht Sub Woofer back into Galway harbour. After a brisk evening sail on 5 May 2007, he and three friends were looking forward to motoring for home. But the strong westerly winds they’d experienced in the evening increased to near-gale force as midnight approached. A tidal current together with the rapid fl ow from the River Corrib (one of the most powerful rivers in Europe) made for surprisingly rough seas. And then the 9m yacht’s auxiliary engine cut out.

In the conditions, it was too dangerous to go down below to try and restart the engine.

Left without power, the skipper and his crew deployed an anchor but it dragged in the sand and mud below. They began to be swept towards the rocks of Rinmore Point. ‘We got very, very cold and took a bit of a beating,’ recalls the skipper, who radioed for help.

Galway inshore lifeboat crew members were paged at 11.45pm and, 15 minutes later, the B class Atlantic 75 Dóchas (which means ‘hope’) was launched. Aboard were Helmsman Brian Niland and Crew Members Ciaran Oliver and Michael Swan, pictured below from right to left. It was Brian’s fi rst rescue as Helmsman, and his boathandling skills faced a stern test.

Once the lifeboat was clear of the shelter of the harbour, the north westerly force 7 winds made for a challenging passage. The lifeboat crew caught sight of Sub Woofer within minutes. She was in an area of shallow, rocky water just 100m from the shore. It was too dangerous for Brian to motor alongside. Instead, he and the crew deployed an anchor, planning to reverse in from this fi xed point. By now the yacht had run aground, and the priority was to get her crew of four to safety. ‘If we had gone in under full power, the anchor would have dragged and we could have damaged the outboard engines on the rocks,’ says Ciaran. The crew agreed that the solution was to slowly but surely bring her alongside using a rope.

Ciaran entered the water with a tow line and swam through the confused seas. ‘It wasn’t too cold – the crew kit did its job,’ he remembers. He was helped aboard the Sub Woofer and attached the line to one of the yacht’s winches. Meanwhile, Brian and Michael shut down the lifeboat engines, raising them from the water to protect the propellers. While they slackened the anchor line, Ciaran and the yacht crew heaved on the tow line, pulling the lifeboat through the rocky waters and towards the yacht.

The lifeboat was nearing stern fi rst, which would make it diffi cult for the yacht crew to climb aboard over the raised engines. ‘That meant that we had to set up another line to bring us in at an angle – it involved a lot x of concentration but we did it and they got aboard safely,’ says Ciaran.

With everyone off the yacht, Ciaran, Michael and Brian heaved the lifeboat back to the deeper water, where they recovered their anchor and restarted their engines. By 1.06am, they were all back at the lifeboat station.

‘I couldn’t speak more highly of the crew,’ said Sub Woofer’s skipper, whose yacht was recovered when the weather had calmed down. ‘They gave up a night’s sleep to come and get us.’ Galway Lifeboat Operations Manager Pat Lavelle says: ‘Brian was with two experienced crew members but everything he did was using his own initiative. It’s a treacherous area and the weather was pretty bad.

‘It was a relief to see them all come back in one piece.’ In a letter to the Galway crew, the RNLI’s Chief Executive Andrew Freemantle wrote: ‘This was a well-led and professionally executed service, which demonstrated fi rstclass seamanship and teamwork by all the crew of the inshore lifeboat. Well done, all of you!’ Galway harbour x Lough Atalia River Corrib Ebbing tide Yacht aground Lifeboat veering in from here x ? ? ? rescue A beach out of reach Even strong swimmers can be caught out, struggling in sight of land. Carol Waterkeyn reports Sunday 3 June 2007 was a memorable day for all the wrong reasons. A family holiday nearly turned into a disaster when Carolyne Yard, her two sons and daughter visited Devon with friend Mark and his daughter.

They were all staying in a cottage at Woolacombe and had gone to visit nearby Barricane beach, which unfortunately was not patrolled by lifeguards.

Carolyne explains: ‘It had all started off so well. It was the last day of our holiday. It had been close to my son Will’s birthday so we’d gone yet again to the sea. The boys had got their wetsuits on and just gone off doing what they had done every day of the holiday.

They had gone into the sea. The weather was nice. We knew the beach pretty well, we had been there plenty of times – and then this all happened.’ The sea was a little choppy but plenty of people were swimming and surfboarding. The Yard family and friends settled themselves in a good spot while Angus and Will, 16 and 14 respectively, went off for some surfing.

Carolyne and Mark sat on the beach and the two girls were close to the shore splashing about in the water. The boys had been out having fun for about half an hour when Carolyne’s friend voiced his concern that the sea seemed to have swept them over to the left, near to some rocks.

Carolyne remembers: ‘I thought Mark was overreacting, but we went to the edge of the water and motioned to the boys to move over, so they started to try to swim back, but they couldn’t. They were really swimming hard. Will, who is the better swimmer, was swimming really strongly but he just didn’t move.’ The boys had been caught in a strong rip current.

Mark decided to go in to help but then Will and Angus shouted to Carolyne. ‘At their age – big teenage boys – they don’t call for their mum, so I knew there was a problem,’ she says. Carolyne realised she shouldn’t attempt to go in the water herself as she is a weak swimmer. ‘As Mark got in I called to another man who had a surfboard to see if he could help and then I immediately phoned 999 for the Coastguard.’ The nearest lifeguards were at the neighbouring Woolacombe beach and the Coastguards called them for assistance. They reassured Carolyne on the phone, telling her she would soon see the RNLI lifeguards coming in by boat. She kept looking out for the boys in the water and when they temporarily disappeared from view she was really frightened. ‘When I saw the rescue boat come around the corner, it seemed to have taken forever. I bet it only took 2–3 minutes but when you are on the phone and your boys are in the sea and you think they’re going to drown, 2 minutes is a long time. When I saw the boat I was just so relieved.’ The lifeguards’ inshore rescue boat sped into view. Lifeguard Bernie (Bernadette) Padbury jumped into the water with a rescue tube while her colleague remained at the helm. Bernie swam to Angus and Mark, while Will and the surfer who had tried to help managed to get up onto the rocks. Bernie says: ‘The water was like a whirlpool and the tide was coming in. I didn’t want to swim the guys back to the boat and risk the safety of the lifeguard who was driving, or leave behind an already disorientated Angus or Mark. On balance I decided on a walk over the rocks even though Mark’s feet were cut like they had been through a cheese grater.

Then I swam them through a gully before reaching the beach again.’ Carolyne continues the story: ‘We all met up on the beach and cried and shook. They were all very shocked. My daughter arrived; she had gone off to get towels. Angus said he was shaking because he was cold but I think it was more shock than cold; they were all white as well. Mark broke down and cried and said: “That was so close.”’ Will adds: ‘When we couldn’t get our way out of the problem by swimming I had real fear. I thought we were going to end up being crushed into the rocks and that was really scary.’ Woolacombe Lifeguard Bernie says: ‘It was quite a dangerous rescue. Everyone was really shaken up including the man who had tried to help. But, thankfully, it all worked out well in the end.’ Carolyne sums up: ‘If the lifeguards hadn’t been there my boys would have drowned that day. I had heard that you are 500 times more likely to drown on a beach without lifeguards and when I go with the boys now, we’ll go further up the beach where the lifeguards are. Defi nitely.’ Woolacombe Lifeguard Bernie says: ‘It was quite a dangerous rescue. Everyone was really shaken up including the man who had tried to help. But, thankfully, it all worked out well in the end.’ Carolyne sums up: ‘If the lifeguards hadn’t been there my boys would have drowned that day. I had heard that you are 500 times more likely to drown on a beach without lifeguards and when I go with the boys now, we’ll go further up the beach where the lifeguards are. Defi nitely.’ ‘At their age – big teenage boys – they don’t call for their mum, so I knew there was a problem.’ RIP CURRENTS if you are caught in a rip current, remember the three r’s.

RELAX try to stay calm and ? oat. People drown in rips because they panic.

RAISE raise an arm to signal for help.

RESCUE wait for assistance, obey directions from a lifeguard. if you are able, swim parallel to the beach, out of the current. .