Busy Easter holiday week for Walton & Frinton RNLI volunteers
The volunteer crew of the RNLI all-weather lifeboat were called upon four times in five days to assist members of the public who had got into difficulty off the Essex coast.
The first call came just after 3.30am on the morning of Tuesday 4 April when UK Coastguard requested the crew investigate an EPIRB distress beacon which had been activated by the crew of a yacht 12 miles east of Walton Pier.
Together with Harwich RNLI crew and a Coastguard helicopter they found the vessel was aground and sailors from the yacht had evacuated to their life raft.
The helicopter crew lifted the three occupants from the life raft and took them to hospital to be checked over after their ordeal.
Walton & Frinton’s Tamar lifeboat remained on scene to check the security of the yacht and recover the life raft back to land. Harwich RNLI returned later in the day to retrieve the yacht once it had refloated.
The Walton & Frinton crew were back in their berth at Walton Pier just after 7am Tuesday morning.
Later on Tuesday afternoon the team were asked to assist Essex Fire & Rescue mud rescue team as they evacuated the occupants of a yacht which was stranded on mud in Walton Backwaters.
Teams assembled at Titchmarsh Marina and equipment and personnel were transferred to the lifeboat which was able to take them to within 75 metres of the craft.
The rescued family of three were then transferred to the lifeboat to warm up after their ordeal before being brought ashore.
The morning of Wednesday 5 April saw the crew attend to a motor boat with steering failure 4 miles off Walton Pier. The vessel and its two occupants were assisted into Walton Backwaters for repairs.
The fourth incident came just before 6am on Saturday 8 April when the crew were sent to locate and assist a 15 metre motor vessel with one person on board which had engine failure.
With the craft’s occupant unable to give an accurate position the lifeboat used it’s radio direction finding equipment to get a bearing and eventually located the craft drifting in the Gunfleet windfarm.
The vessel was taken to Brightlingsea and the lifeboat crew then returned to the berth at Walton Pier just after midday.
RNLI Media contacts
For more information please telephone Miranda Rayner, Walton and Frinton RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07799691852 or [email protected]
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.
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Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.