Cowes RNLI have reached a significant milestone having completed their 600th shout since the life-saving charity began operations in the town in 2008.
On Thursday night, the lifeboat launched to the aid of a motorboat and later a yacht – both in potentially life-threatening trouble – in choppy conditions.
The crew were alerted to the first emergency – the 600th – in a unique way. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, they were undergoing their weekly crew meeting at the time, away from the station, through Zoom.
Solent Coastguard had informed Station Operations Manager, Mark Southwell, that a 24ft motorboat was grounded on rocks on the east side of Thorness Ledge, and the 2 people aboard were in urgent need of assistance in failing light and a heavy swell.
After launching at 19:25 the lifeboat located the craft, which was being monitored from the shore by Needles and Ventnor Coastguard Rescue Teams.
The long process of escorting the casualty vessel back to its base at Town Quay, Southampton began. Despite the motorboat’s navigation lights failing off Fawley, the lifeboat completed the task and finally returned to the Cowes station at 21:55.
Just as the crew were washing down the lifeboat on the slipway a second alert came through, this time involving a 27ft yacht with 2 people aboard. The duo radioed to say they had engine trouble.
The stricken yacht’s location on the edge of the main shipping channel, off Old Castle Point, East Cowes was helpfully pinpointed by a searchlight used by the pilot aboard the passing giant car-carrier, Auto Energy. Eventually, the lifeboat towed the yacht to Trinity Landing, Cowes.
As well as the station now exceeding the 600 ‘shouts’, the 2 operations meant that since Cowes RNLI took over from the town’s independent lifeboat in 2008 it has assisted no fewer than 753 people – men, women and, just occasionally, children.
