When two teenage boys found themselves drifting out to sea, they soon realised they were in real danger. Luckily for them, trainee Crew Member Sam Shelley was close by

A warm summer’s day was winding down in Skinningrove on the North Yorkshire coast. Sunday 28 August was part of the bank holiday weekend, with many locals making the most of the following day off work. Trainee Crew Member Sam Shelley went for a walk with his girlfriend and dogs down by the beach. As he walked along, he spotted two teenage boys out in the water. ‘They were going a bit far
out, so I took the dogs over and thought: “I’ll just go on the jetty and watch them for a minute.” I was only watching for 10 seconds when they started shouting for help.’ The two teenage boys were using a piece of roof insulation board they had found as a float. With the tide taking them out faster than anticipated, they soon found themselves too far out to swim back. Sam’s training kicked in.
‘Before, I wouldn’t have known who to alert in that situation. I’d have rung 999 but I wouldn’t know what to do from there. But, from my crew training, I know exactly what to do.’ Sam called 999 and explained what was happening to the Coastguard. He then sent a text message to his fellow crew members at Staithes and Runswick RNLI. Three miles down the coast from Skinningrove at Staithes, lifeboat Helmsman Lee Jackson was celebrating his wedding anniversary with his wife at a local restaurant. ‘We had just sat down, looking at the menu, when I saw somebody run past the window. I presumed it must have been a call out, because the pagers hadn’t gone by then. So I had to make my apologies and run out of the restaurant.’ By the time Lee arrived at the lifeboat station,
many of the local crew members were already there. ‘One of the deputy launching authorities was there and he said there was a report of two boys in the water at Skinningrove. We knew we had to get going as quickly as we could.’ Because most of the crew members were at the station before their pagers had activated, they were able to launch aboard their B class inshore lifeboat Pride of Leicester rapidly. And that was essential – with the sun setting and light failing fast, finding the boys quickly was a top priority. ‘The advantage I suppose was we had two boys on a floating object, which meant they were more visible,’ said Lee. ‘If you are looking for one person in the water, you’re just looking for a football-sized head.’ The combination of the floating board and Sam’s quick action meant the boys were soon spotted. Having safely manoeuvred the lifeboat alongside, Lee’s fellow Crew Members Luke Hutchinson and Richard Pennell pulled the boys onboard. With no assistance available on Skinningrove beach, Lee decided to take the boys back to Staithes and Runswick Lifeboat Station. ‘We reassured the boys and tried to get them warm with the first aid equipment we have.’ An ambulance was waiting for them on their return. The boys were taken to hospital as a precaution before being returned to their family.
Meanwhile Lee headed back to the restaurant to finish his anniversary dinner – and made it just in time for dessert.

‘I knew they were in good hands’

When the incident happened I had been doing a lot of training on the lifeboat, and got quite a few of the training modules out of the way. ‘I was shouting at them to try and keep calm. They were shouting and they were scared. I was trying to tell them that the lifeboat was on the way. Then they were trying to come towards the jetty, so I was telling them to stay away. ‘As I saw the lifeboat coming towards them, I knew it was fine then. I knew they were in good hands – I was proud of the crew. It made my mind up that it’s definitely what I want to do.’

SAM SHELLEY
TRAINEE LIFEBOAT CREW
MEMBER AND GAS ENGINEER