A sailor with a head injury has been taken to hospital thanks to the efforts of 2 lifeboats and their volunteer crews.
Yarmouth RNLI’s All Weather Lifeboat was tasked to launch at just before 20:15 last night (Saturday) in response to an emergency call to Solent Coastguard.
It had been reported that a sailor on board a vessel, located South of the Isle of Wight, was injured.
With Bembridge RNLI’s All Weather Lifeboat off service, Yarmouth was deemed the next closest and available asset.
By 21:10, almost an hour after launching, the Severn-class lifeboat rendezvoused with the casualty vessel off Ventnor.
Volunteer lifeboat crew were transferred onboard to assess the situation, with a determination made that the assistance of Sandown & Shanklin Independent Lifeboat was required.
At 22:15, Sandown Lifeboat launched to meet up with the casualty vessel and Yarmouth RNLI as the pair arrived in Sandown Bay.
The casualty was transferred onto the smaller Atlantic-class lifeboat and taken ashore at Sandown for onward conveyance to St Mary’s Hospital, Newport.
Ventnor Coastguard Rescue Team was tasked to assist with the shore transfer.
The vessel was then taken under tow and placed on a mooring off Bembridge RNLI’s boat house.
Yarmouth Lifeboat returned to its home station at 01:15, some 5 hours after launching having circumnavigated the Isle of Wight.
Makes a refreshing change for the RNLI to save one of our own.
From a national newspaper > On Saturday, an RNLI lifeboat was despatched two miles into French waters to rescue some 65 migrants from a dinghy struggling in rough conditions and bring them back to Dover.
The RNLI sailed two miles into French waters, yet instead of returning the illegal immigrants to France to the beach they had set out from, or arranging to meet the French Coastguard to hand them over, the RNLI bought them in to the UK.
I am sure they had a round of applause from the French Government for such sterling work, as people in the UK are boycotting them.
Bon appetite mes amis.
Such ignorance almost defies comment.
Helen I ask of you to consider this scenario.
Young Pierre and Antoine and Louis are paddling at the French seaside one afternoon when a stray wave sweeps them out to sea. They are still two miles inside French waters but the UK RNLI spot them and go two miles into French waters to pick them up.
Where do the RNLI take young Pierre and Antoine and Louis?
Do they take them back to the French beach which is close by (or hand them over to the French Coastguard) so they can return to their loved ones?
Or do they take them to another country ~ the UK?
I will await your response.
They were once held in such high esteem as an organisation, and now they are mostly despised. They probably get funded by the government (i.e., tax payers) for their taxi services.
The task of the RNLI is to save lives at sea.
Don’t blame those brave people who are doing the job they are trained for with no financial reward.
Blame governments or others who are just making money out of other peoples misery.
Where is your evidence to support that comment??
“Mostly despised”? Are you kidding? They do wonderful work.
Probably in the Fail on Sunday, printed just to illicit a reaction like yours.