Cowes RNLI’s busy day

Cowes RNLI crew faced their busiest day of the year last Thursday (September 11), as they responded to four shouts in one day, with the first launch at 5.45am and last return to the station at 9.10pm.

The volunteer crew launched their inshore boat at 5.45am to support the annual Bramble Bank cricket match, located on the sandbar in the Solent between Southampton and Cowes.

The decades-old match between the Royal Southern Yacht Club and Island Sailing Club takes place every year at low tide, when the sandbar is exposed.

The Cowes crew were joined by the Calshot inshore boat, which was also supporting the match.

At 7.20am, just after the end of the match, both crews attended a young man with breathing difficulty on board a RIB on the bank. The man was given a nebuliser, foil blanket and plastic sheeting, and as he had been playing cricket in the water and was very cold, the decision was made to transfer him to Cowes.

Just then, the Cowes lifeboat was called away to another casualty vessel. Calshot, with the help of attendees at the match, transferred the young man to the lifeboat, and took him to Trinity Landing where he was met by the Cowes shore crew and ambulance paramedics.

Meanwhile, Cowes RNLI made their way to Lepe Spit, where a dogwalker had spotted a vessel aground and listing badly. The 30ft sailing vessel had two people on board, and with both waves and wind worsening, the decision was made to tow the vessel away from the spit once it was lifted by the rising tide.

With one crew member on board the casualty vessel, the Cowes crew were able to free the boat and guide it out of danger. They then escorted the vessel and its two crew safely to the entrance to Southampton Water.

Cowes RNLI were paged again at 6.45pm to a rib in difficulty off Egypt Point. Along with Yarmouth RNLI, who had been on exercise in the area, they recovered seven people from a RIB. They had been on their way from Yarmouth to Southampton when a rogue wave swamped their boat and cut their engine.
The casualties were transferred to the Yarmouth lifeboat where they could sit inside in the warm, while Cowes RNLI towed the RIB back to Trinity Landing. There, the casualties were met by members of the HM Needles Coastguard team and an ambulance.

Immediately after making the RIB secure on Trinity Landing, both lifeboats attended an incident in Ryde to assist police and HM Coastguard teams. The crew returned to the station at 9.10pm to complete a busy day.