Barrow lifeboat assists small vessel off Foulney Island
The volunteer crew from Barrow RNLI launched their inshore lifeboat yesterday afternoon to go to the aid of a yacht tender which had broken down in Walney Channel.
The request for assistance was received from HM Coastguard at 4.05pm on Friday (12th September). The information received was that a yacht had broken free from it’s mooring and had run aground at the southern end of Foulney Island. The yacht’s owner was making his way to his vessel in a small tender with the intention of securing the yacht. However, the tender broke down during the passage.
The crew was paged and the inshore lifeboat, Raymond and Dorothy Billingham, was launched at 4.23pm with Jonny Long at the helm supported by crew, Mike Harris and Fraser Livesy.
The lifeboat was soon at the scene and alongside the tender. With the tender’s outboard re-started, the lifeboat crew assisted in setting the anchor of the grounded yacht with a view to the owner recovering his vessel on the next daylight tide.
With the yacht secure, the lifeboat escorted the tender back to Roa Island and then returned to the boathouse where it was recovered by the waiting shore crew and washed down in readiness for the next launch.
The weather at the time of the incident was poor with a strong Force 6 south-westerly wind. The high tide had passed at 3.15pm with a predicted height of 9.0 metres.
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.
Learn more about the RNLI
For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.
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.