Three calls for Whitstable RNLI

On Saturday the B- Class lifeboat Lewisco was diverted from an exercise at 4.32pm following a report of a 14ft dinghy with 2-persons onboard aground near to Conyer Creek in The Swale.

The lifeboat crew located the craft around 100-metres from the then waters edge and 15-metres from the shore.

Having established radio contact with the casualty craft the occupants reported that all was well and the lifeboat was therefore released from the incident to return to station.

On Sunday afternoon following several 999 calls the lifeboat launched to assist 5-persons on two paddleboards around 300-metres off the Tankerton Bay Sailing Club.

Three teenage boys along with a male and female adult were recovered to the lifeboat and landed ashore on the beach where family members and the coastguard team were waiting.

On Tuesday afternoon the lifeboat was launched following a report of a capsized catamaran off Tankerton however the lifeboat returned to station when it was reported that the Tankerton Bay Sailing Club rescue boat had attended to the capsized craft.

There have now been 36 calls so far this year on the volunteer crews at Whitstable RNLI.

Notes to editors

• Whitstable RNLI Lifeboat Station was established in 1963 by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and is one of 237 lifeboat stations around the shores of the UK and Ireland. The volunteer crews provide a maritime search and rescue service for the Kent coast. They cover the area between the Kingsferry Bridge on the Swale, in the west, around the south-eastern side of Sheppey and along the coast through Whitstable and Herne Bay to Reculver in the east and outwards into the Thames Estuary.

• The station is equipped with an Atlantic 85 lifeboat named Lewisco, purchased through a bequest of a Miss Lewis of London who passed away in 2006.

• She is what is known as a rigid inflatable inshore lifeboat, the boat’s rigid hull being topped by an inflatable sponson. She carries a crew of four people.

• RNLI media contacts

• Chris Davey, Volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer, Whitstable Lifeboat Station.
  07741 012004/ [email protected]

• Julie Rainey - Regional Communications Lead : 07827 358256

• Hatti Mellor - Regional Communications Manager :07724 801305

For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI is the charity that 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 146,700 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.