A severed finger, no engine, rough seas: that was the harsh reality a yacht skipper faced off the Devon coast at the end of April. So how would he reach hospital?

‘All we knew when we launched is that he may have lost his finger and needed medical attention,’ recalls Torbay Mechanic Will Bower, who rushed to the Brixham-based lifeboat station when his pager sounded on 26 April. At around 4pm, a yacht crew had tried to fix their failed engine 20 miles out to sea in 3–4m swells and gusting winds. The yacht’s skipper had trapped a finger in the engine hatch, and was in danger of losing it. Portland Coastguard sent a helicopter crew to the scene, but without an engine the sailors could not maintain the speed and direction needed for a winchman to safely come aboard. After several attempts to get close enough, the helicopter had to return to land to refuel. For now, the sailors were alone.

Meanwhile, the Torbay lifeboat crew headed out of Brixham Harbour and towards the yacht. Second Coxswain Richard Fowler was at the helm, while Will handled communications with the Coastguard. After 40 minutes of tackling the swells and driving rain, Richard brought the lifeboat within view of the yacht, which was being thrown around by the powerful wind and breaking waves. By this time, the helicopter crew had returned to the scene.

‘I asked the sailors to shorten their sails, to slow the yacht’s movement down a bit, but it was still lurching around,’ remembers Will. Richard began a series of passes to try and get the lifeboat close enough to bring the injured sailor aboard. It would not prove easy.

‘Richard did an incredible job,’ says Crew Member and Photographer Nigel Millard, who was on the bow with his fellow volunteers, waiting for a chance to grab the casualty. ‘The yacht was so unpredictable. Several times, it veered across our bows or popped up suddenly in front of us, meaning we had to go full astern to avoid collision.’

After six attempts to get alongside – and lots of evasive action – Richard saw his chance. The waves gave him a moment’s respite, which was enough to get close alongside. The casualty threw himself forward, bravely using his gloved, injured hand to grasp the outstretched arms of the lifeboat crew. They brought him into the wheelhouse, where Crew Member and GP Dr Alex Rowe assessed the injury.

After talking to the injured skipper – who is a medical professional himself – Alex passed on details of the injury to the Coastguard. It was clear the casualty would need to get to Derriford Hospital, Plymouth, as soon as possible, to give him every chance of saving his finger.

Now it was the helicopter crew’s turn to attempt a difficult manoeuvre. ‘They gave us a direction and speed, but it was still a tricky transfer in those conditions,’ says Will. The lifeboat heaved up and down in the waves: one minute there was not enough line for the winchman to reach the deck, the next minute, there was too much. But, after an initial attempt, the helicopter crew sent down a highline so that the lifeboat volunteers could grab it and help the winchman onto the lifeboat. ‘It was the quickest lift-up any of us had ever seen,’ recalls Nigel, who watched the winchman quickly and safely secure the casualty before the pair were whisked aboard the helicopter, and on towards Plymouth.

By now the remaining sailors had set sail for shore, keen to reach the shelter of Brixham Harbour. ‘We passed them on our way back to the station and checked they were okay,’ says Will, who refuelled the lifeboat when they reached Brixham. ‘We had just finished getting the lifeboat ready for service when the yacht arrived outside the harbour, so we gave them a tow in. They were very grateful – as was their skipper. One of the crew nipped in to the station a few days later to say the surgeons had saved his finger. And that’s good to know.’