A 999 call had been made by walkers after they thought they had spotted someone waving for help in the water.
The inshore lifeboat began searching the area while the local coastguard crews tracked down the informants on shore.
Thank fully what they had seen was not a casualty in the water but a flag fixed to a lobster pot.
Jonathan Marr who was helm on the inshore lifeboat at the time said:
‘This was a false alarm with good intent, we would always rather check it out if someone thinks they’ve seen someone in distress in the sea. Thanks to the coastguard locating and speaking to the informants we were able to piece together the information and rule out anyone being in the water.
It was also the first shout for one of our trainees at Whitby RNLI.’
The following day the inshore lifeboat was launched again after a person was cut off by the tide on rocks near Whitby’s east pier.
Volunteer crew from the inshore lifeboat assisted the coastguard in walking the casualty to safety while the inshore lifeboat waited on the shore.
Helm Lee Harland said: ‘one of the great things about having the smaller inshore lifeboat is that we can make a beach landing, we weren’t needed on this occasion to retrieve the casualty with the lifeboat but were able to assist in walking them to safety over the rocks.’
Lee added: ‘We’d like to remind people to always check the tide times when out walking on the beach, and it’s a good idea to familiarise yourself with your routes of entry and exit.’
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.
