Tower is the RNLI’s busiest lifeboat station, and its crew were really in demand on 5 September, rescuing 106 people in 2 hours.

This large number of casualties were taking part in a popular race, in which dragon boats, crewed by 18 a piece, row 22 miles along the Thames. Wind over tide created large waves, swamping many of the boats. The E class lifeboat The Legacy attended to eight dragon boats that were either sinking or had already sunk, a race rescue boat that had suffered engine failure, and a crowd stranded on a beach. [Watch this on rnli.org.uk/towerdragon.]