Day 2 of Cowes Week 2017 was a somewhat busy one for the volunteer crew of Cowes RNLI, who attended no less than 5 incidents yesterday (Sunday).
The first shout of the day for the Atlantic-class lifeboat was to a large yacht which had been aground on Brambles Bank. She was already being assisted by Calshot RNLI and a small ingress of water had been contained, however to ensure her safe return to port Cowes RNLI escorted the casualty vessel into Cowes.
It wasn’t long until the lifeboat was called into action once again, this time to a 10-crew yacht on which a crew member had fallen and injured his head. Having established he didn’t require medical evacuation Cowes Lifeboat carried out an escort into Cowes. The man was met by the Isle of Wight Ambulance Service.
The third and fourth shouts of the day were both to open decked ‘day boats’. With winds gusting and creating a short steep sea, more water was coming on board than the crew could manage. As the yacht was so low in the water a crew member was not put on board. Instead a very gentle tow was established to enable the yacht crew to bail out.
Cowes RNLI’s final tasking of the day was to a boat that had literally lost its rudder. The rudder pinged off when the boat went into a deep wave hole. To assist, the lifeboat deployed its drogue on the casualty for it to steer in a straight line whilst under tow into Wootton Creek.
