UPDATED: Red Funnel’s Red Jet 6 has assisted in the rescue of a man overboard in the Solent this afternoon (Thursday).
Shortly before 13:00 a single-manned RIB hit a big wave near to Bramble Bank, which threw the crewman out. Fortunately he was wearing a kill cord which stopped the boat from thrashing about in the Solent uncontrollably.
The incident prompted the launch of Cowes RNLI lifeboat but not before Red Jet 6 could arrive on scene, which stood by before Southampton Harbour Master launch ‘Pathfinder’ pulled the man from the water.
The lifeboat was then tasked to retrieve the RIB.
The crewman has received medical treatment having been landed at Trinity Landing and has since been escorted back to the mainland by Pathfinder.
UPDATE @ 16:50 – The casualty of today’s incident, Tim Harding, has passed on his thanks to all those involved in his rescue.
Tim, from Winchester, had been taking part in Cowes Week and was on his way back to Hamble at the time of the incident.
Speaking to Island Echo, Tim has said:
“I would like to pass on my thanks to the crew on board Red Jet 6. I would have been stuck out there for some time if it wasn’t for them.
“They [Red Jet 6] were coming out of Cowes and must have seen me in the water with my life jacket. They circled around, held position and raised the alarm.
“My thanks also goes out to the Southampton Harbour Master launch for rescuing me and escorting me back to Hamble, as well as Cowes RNLI for retrieving my RIB – everyone did a fantastic job.
“The RNLI girls made a great cup of tea too!”
