On Monday October 14 training at RNLI Rye Harbour began at 6:15pm with a briefing by Tim Brown to the assembled crew. The boat was launched, and training carried on in earnest with a towing exercise and other boat-handling skills.
The boat returned to the station and was refuelled and made ready for future service.
Then the pagers went off at 8:29 pm: luckily the crew was still on site so it was a very speedy departure to a mayday call from a 7.5m cruiser being used as a fishing boat with two adults on board that had engine failure. Our Atlantic 85 headed out to sea and located the vessel. A tow was established and the vessel brought safely back into harbour and moored up the river.
The fishermen were from Moldova and were so grateful for the speedy response of the RNLI and subsequent rescue, thanking the lifeboat crew profusely.
Boat crew: Neil J, Stuart C, Rob J and Tim B.
Shore crew: Dave R, Mick C, Mark S, Chris K, Jaimie C and Cody. Further shore crew arrived to wash the boat down including Luke B and Brendan T.
Acting lifeboat operations manager Mark Stephenson said: “I was proud of our crew members tonight with their professionalism and dedication. They all pulled together and prevented a tragedy: that’s what it is all about - One Crew and Saving Lives at Sea.”
