Our lifeboat crews and lifeguards carry out thousands of rescues each year (see launches on page 36). Here are just some of those caught on camera, and see the list below for more reports:

6 LITTLEHAMPTON | PAGE 10
7 CASTLETOWNBERE | PAGE 12
8 ISLES OF SCILLY | PAGE 14
9 BARMOUTH | PAGE 16

WHAT’S YOUR POSITION?
RAMSEY/BARROW/
DOUGLAS | 8 JULY
Skipper Alan Birkett set out on an overnight fishing trip to the Isle of Man with his son and a friend but, when the boys fell violently ill, their getaway turned into a rescue mission involving a ferry, a helicopter and three lifeboats. With no suitable GPS onboard, locating
the stricken crew took both ingenuity and teamwork. For more on the rescue, read our online magazine report at RNLI.org/BarrowRescue.

CAVE CASUALTY
PORTRUSH | 24 JULY
Portrush volunteers launched both lifeboats for the second time in 24 hours when a man fell onto rocks in a cave near Dunluce Castle. The inshore lifeboat crew, joined by an ambulance paramedic, got in close to recover the casualty and transferred him to the all-weather lifeboat where a rescue helicopter was hovering overhead. The helicopter winchman and RNLI crew worked together to strap the casualty securely into a stretcher and airlift him to hospital.

UNLUCKY CATCH
TYNEMOUTH | 3 SEPTEMBER
When a crew member aboard a 10,000-tonne vehicle carrier impaled his finger on a fish hook, Tynemouth lifeboat volunteers steamed through poor visibility to evacuate him. Two RNLI crew members boarded the ship to assess the man and ferried him to North Shields where paramedics got him to a specialist hospital. RNLI spokesman Adrian Don says: ‘The hook was firmly embedded … it wasn't possible to remove it without minor surgery.’

INJURED KAYAKER
TENBY | 10 SEPTEMBER
Tenby’s all-weather lifeboat crew launched after a wave capsized a kayaker. The woman was washed into rocks at the base of a sheer cliff. Fellow kayakers helped the injured casualty back into her vessel, and the lifeboat was soon on scene. As the casualty was in pain, the lifeboat crew decided to float the kayak to the stern of their vessel, then lift it on deck with the casualty still in it. She was then winched onto a Coastguard helicopter and airlifted to hospital.

RUSH HOUR
PETERHEAD | 9 JUNE
Our volunteers had an early start when a man aboard a yacht in Peterhead Bay reported severe chest pains to Aberdeen Coastguard just before 6.30am. The RNLI crew promptly arrived on scene, boarded the vessel and gave the man casualty care. Then they escorted the yacht into harbour and handed the sailor into the care of waiting ambulance paramedics. The lifesavers and their Tamar class lifeboat were done and dusted by 7.30am.