St Mary's RNLI tow fishing vessel to safety
St. Mary's RNLI all weather lifeboat received a shout at 7.25am on 26 September to go to the aid of a Newlyn based fishing vessell that had lost all power some 38 nautical miles north west of the Isles of Scilly .
Bearing in mind the extreme forecast for the next 24-hours due to Storm Agnes it was agreed to tow the stricken vessel back towards safety.
Fortunately the sea conditions were moderate and a slow tow began, heading for the Sevenstones Lightship where the tow could be taken over by Penlee lifeboat in order to proceed to Newlyn.
St. Mary's lifeboat was then stood down and she returned to St. Mary's harbour to be refuelled and made ready for service, some eleven hours after launching.
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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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