Cowes RNLI lifeboat was putting safety first when it joined the many boats gathered in the upper reaches of the River Medina during 3 nights of the Isle of Wight Festival over the weekend. It was there to provide cover, supplementing the duties of the Island coastguards on shore – just in case there were problems aboard one of the boats or someone got into difficulties when attempting to gate-crash the festival by swimming across the river. Fortunately, there were no such dramatic events, although there were cases where useful advice was provided. Miles Hussey, who helmed the lifeboat on all 3 nights, said:
“We much appreciated the involvement of Island coastguards, for whom we were able to provide radio contact with their Solent headquarters near Fareham. All told, we must have spent a total of 9 hours on the river over the 3 nights, each stretching to 01:30.”
He said the boats at anchor included quite a few from various Hampshire ports.
