Crew milestones and yacht rescues at Clovelly RNLI

Despite the miserable weather this summer, plenty of people have been seizing the opportunity to get out on the water around the British coastline — and the Bideford Bay area is no exception. But while most will return safely, two recent incidents have highlighted just how quickly things can go wrong.

On August 17 at 5.49pm Clovelly’s volunteers were paged to assist a yacht in trouble in the vicinity of Bucks Mills. After initially struggling to contact the vessel, the crew were able to locate a lone sailor in distress. Having lost power he had attempted to drop anchor but ran into further difficulties. One crew member was put aboard the casualty vessel and the crew were able to tow it to safety within Clovelly harbour.

The incident marked the first time on the boat for volunteer Luca Sanders, who said, 'I was surprised by how much adrenaline I felt when I realised that this was it. But once I got down into the boathouse and out at sea, all of the training kicked in. We spend so much time preparing for these moments, and it was great to see how well everything comes together when it matters the most.'

In another milestone, Deputy Launch Authority Chris Turner also experienced his first time overseeing the rescue from the Ops room. He said, 'It was a little nerve-wracking, but everyone collaborated and communicated well. The lifeboat and shore crews operated collectively and effectively as one team, and served as a credit to the RNLI. It was also great to experience a smooth collaboration with Falmouth Coastguard, working together to achieve the outcome that everyone hopes for.'

Eleven days later, the crew abandoned their Bank Holiday plans when the pagers went off, launching the Toby Rundle at 10:05am on August 28. Again, a yacht had lost power, but this time the vessel was caught in sharp, steep waves that were pushing it towards the cliffs near Clovelly. Having dropped anchor to prevent the vessel striking the rocks, the lone sailor called for assistance. After transferring the casualty to the lifeboat, crew were able to tow the vessel to a mooring just outside Clovelly harbour.

For the volunteers at Clovelly RNLI, this marked yet another milestone, with crew member Mitchell Currington heading out on the lifeboat for the first time.

Summer is always a busy time for RNLI volunteers across the country, and water users are reminded to always take precautions and carry a means of calling for help when heading out to sea.