11th September 2019                                                                    Lytham St Annes RNLI
 
Lifeboat Volunteers out all night in gale force winds
to a disabled yacht drifting towards the Morecambe Bay Gas Rigs
 
Lytham St Annes Lifeboat rescues man and his yacht from the rig danger zone
The H.M Coastguard (Holyhead MRSC) requested the lifeboat launch at 11.10pm on the 10th September to a yacht in danger 32 miles from the station while on passage from Liverpool to Douglas, Isle of Man.  The 9 metre (30 feet) vessel was unable to carry on in the worsening sea conditions with her owner suffering from fatigue.  The yacht was drifting, with sails down, before the South West gale force 8 wind, gusting at times to strong gale force 9, and was on course to run into the gas rigs on the South Morecambe Bay Field.
Coxswain Robin Baker briefs the crew before setting on 10th September 2019
(photo RNLI / David Forshaw)
The lifeboat Barbara Anne set out at 11.30pm with Coxswain Robin Baker in command and headed for the reported position of the yacht.  During the extremely rough passage out to the casualty the lifeboat’s radar set failed several times before finally failing completely causing position finding difficulty but the rig support vessel Vos Pathfinder, on guard duty at the gas field, located the yacht and stood by although unable to otherwise help due to the sea condition being too severe for her daughter safety boat to launch from the vessel. 
Lytham St Annes Lifeboat Barbara Anne disappears into the darkness to launch on 10.09.2019 (photo RNLI / David Forshaw)
The Barbara Anne arrived on scene at 1.15am (11th), the yacht being then well within the gas rig exclusion danger zone and still drifting to hit the Accommodation Platform 1 after fortunately missing another rig, the DP3.  By now conditions were too dangerous to place the lifeboat alongside the yacht to put a lifeboat crew member on board as damage to both boats and crew was highly likely.  Instead a light heaving line was thrown at the first attempt to enable a tow line to be hauled across between the vessels, the lifeboat crew being high in their praise for the yacht’s owner who managed, despite his boat’s severe pitching and rolling, to haul the tow line aboard and make it secure.  The whole operation took 40 minutes to complete before the lifeboat could take up the tow and head North West towards Fleetwood and safety. 
The crew relax at Fleetwood after their marathon service before going out to sea again to
return to Lytham St Annes. From left Coxswain Robin Baker, Felix Lillyman, Vinny Pedley
        (photo RNLI / Chris Penrice)
The tow had to be taken extremely slowly, at times at only 4 knots (4 nautical miles per hour), to prevent the line breaking and with constant vigilance being kept on the tow line in case of problems and on the yacht skipper.  The lifeboat entered the safety of the Wyre Estuary in daylight and secured to the RNLI Buoy off Fleetwood shortly after 7am.  The yachtsman was then brought aboard the lifeboat to be checked, fed and changed into dry clothes before being left with his boat on the mooring buoy to head into the marina when it opened at high water. 
Andy Hall looks pleased in anticipation of a hot drink
(photo RNLI / Chris Penrice)
The Lytham lifeboat left the Wyre to return to her Station at 8.30am and was recovered and re-carriaged around an hour later before being drawn back to her boathouse to be checked over, washed off, refuelled and her faulty radar set examined for repair.  This was completed around 11am (11th) and the Volunteer Crew and Shore Crew could leave to return to their homes or straight to work after almost 12 hours on duty.
Chris Penrice with his hot drink before sailing for home (photo RNLI / Chris Penrice)
 
It was an excellent service carried out in severe conditions.
Commemorative Plaque
Lifeboat Mechanic Martin Jaggs MBE later said, “It was the worst weather we have been out in on service for the last 11 years.  The Yachtsman did a great job connecting the tow line in almost impossible sea conditions.”
Mechanic Martin Jaggs MBE, the sixth member of the Lytham crew
(photo Lytham St Annes RNLI / Bertram Greenhough)
Coxswain Robin Baker AFNI added, “The sea conditions were horrendous but the crew behaved superbly and there was a strong possibility that the yacht could be forced under one of the Gas Rigs and wrecked if we hadn’t arrived in time.  When we arrived it was already in the exclusion zone around the rigs in which no vessel is allowed to enter because of the danger”.
 
Notes to editors
  • Lytham St Annes lifeboat station was founded in 1851
  • Since then 9 medals for bravery have been awarded to Volunteer Crew members.
  • To learn more about the station, please go to:
www.lythamlifeboats.co.uk or www.rnli.org.uk/rnli_near_you/north/stations/LythamStAnnesLancashire/
 

RNLI media contacts

For more information please contact David Forshaw, Lytham St Annes volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07904 685 206 [David_Forshaw@rnli.org.uk] or
Eleri Roberts, RNLI Area Media Officer on 07771941390 [Eleri_Roberts@rnli.org.uk] or contact the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.

 
RNLI online
For more information on the RNLI please visit www.rnli.org.uk. News releases and other media resources, including RSS feeds, downloadable photos and video, are available at the RNLI Press Centre www.rnli.org.uk/press
 
Key facts about the RNLI
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is the charity that saves lives at sea. Our volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland from 238 lifeboat stations, including four along the River Thames and inland lifeboat stations at Loch Ness, Lough Derg, Enniskillen and Lough Ree. Additionally the RNLI has more than 1,000 lifeguards on over 240 beaches around the UK and operates a specialist flood rescue team, which can respond anywhere across the UK and Republic of Ireland when inland flooding puts lives at risk.
 
The RNLI relies on public donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. As a charity it is separate from, but works alongside, government-controlled and funded coastguard services. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824 our lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved at least 139,000 lives. Volunteers make up 95% of the charity, including 4,600 volunteer lifeboat crew members and 3,000 volunteer shore crew. Additionally, tens of thousands of other dedicated volunteers raise funds and awareness, give safety advice, and help in our museums, shops and offices
 

A charity registered in England and Wales (209603) and Scotland (SCO37736). Charity number CHY 2678 in the Republic of Ireland.
 
Words and pictures courtesy of David Forshaw (Lytham St Annes Lifeboat Press Officer)