Hastings’ relief Mersey class lifeboat Royal Shipwright was called out on two medevacs in the same week.

On 12 March, the lifeboat crew brought a fisherman safely ashore, having stabilised his injured ankle. This was the first shout for the station’s new Coxswain, Steve Warne. Four days later, he was in command again as the lifeboat launched to the car transporter City of Rome, which had a crew member suffering from severe stomach pains. The man was brought onboard the lifeboat and his condition treated and monitored for the 40-minute passage to shore and a waiting ambulance.