UPDATED: Bembridge RNLI were kept busy on the water yesterday (Saturday) with no less than 4 call outs within the space of just a few hours.
The All Weather Lifeboat (ALB) was first tasked at 14:06 to ascertain the circumstances of a jet ski seen floating around, unoccupied, close to St Helen’s Fort.
Lifeboat crew members quickly established the jet ski had broken its mooring and that all persons were safe and accounted for. Bembridge Coastguard Rescue Team met with the vessel’s owner at Bembridge Harbour.
Just a few minutes later the lifeboat was re-tasked to assist a yacht with engine difficulties off Priory Bay. It didn’t take long for a tow to be put in place and the casualty vessel was successfully taken into Bembridge Harbour.
There was just a few hours rest for the RNLI volunteers before a third tasking came through at 18:40, this time to a 8m vessel with engine difficulties several miles off the South East coast of the Island. The stricken boat was towed into Portsmouth Harbour, arriving at the mainland port by 21:30.
As Bembridge Lifeboat made waves across Sandown Bay to the broken down boat another incident was unfolding at Culver Cliff near Sandown, which soon resulted in the Bembridge RNLI Inshore Lifeboat (ILB) being launched from Lane End.
Thankfully, the search for a missing person was called off by 19:50 when he was successfully located elsewhere on the Island. The ILB was stood down and returned to station having conducted a search of the base of the cliff.
UPDATE @ 11:25 – Solent Coastguard requested the launch of Bembridge RNLI’s Inshore Lifeboat once again this morning (Sunday) – the fifth time in 24 hours.
The ILB launched at around 06:40 to investigate a dinghy floating in the sea close to the entrance to Bembridge Harbour.
Having located the dinghy and ascertained no one was in danger, the lifeboat recovered to Lane End by 07:30 with the tender in tow.
