News

This page was updated on: Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Rescue Craft had a Busy Weekend

Local Lifeboat and rescue crews were active over the weekend recently, in one case eight children aged between 10 and 14 and two adults being brought ashore after their boat ran aground in Beaulieu River.

The group, who had been camping in the Forest and came from London , had been aboard the 17ft Fletcher Speedboat, Sun Swallow, running out of Beaulieu River when they tried to turn south into the Solent too early and ran hard aground.

"Although the river was reasonably calm, out in the Solent it was a Force 7 wind against the tide, causing quite rough conditions," said Phillip Pearce-Smith, the chief executive of the Venturers Search and Rescue organisation.

"A boat that size with ten people could easily have been swamped and sunk."

The Venturers had spotted them standing just above the waterline on Gull Island.

Their beach rescue RIB was quickly on the scene and the children were taken back to Lepe and given hot chocolate and warmed.

The RIB then returned to pick up the two adults and lent them an anchor to secure the speedboat pending the return of the tide.

The children were then taken by road to Bucklers Hard, from where they had launched, to meet their relieved parents.

The previous day, Yarmouth RNLI Lifeboat, the Venturers rescue boat and the Needles and Lymington Coastguard were all tasked to a 13 metre motor cruiser with two adults and a child on board after it went aground on Warden Ledge, Isle of Wight.

Three Venturers initially went in with their small tender to inspect for underwater damage, and found there were bent propellers and one of the rudders was out of alignment.

They then ran out a kedge anchor and stood by in case the craft's bouncing on the rocks as the tide flooded back caused the hull to be holed.

Yarmouth lifeboat, which had been waiting for sufficient water, then towed the cruiser back to Lymington Yacht Haven.

It was, said Mr Pearce-Smith, an excellent example of co-operation between the Venturers' young crew and the RNLI.