Five weekend calls on Appledore lifeboat
APPLEDORE lifeboat crews continued their busy season with five more calls over the weekend. Early on Saturday morning they were called to assist a yacht adrift in the river off Limers Lane The inshore lifeboat was launched, collected the boat and made it
APPLEDORE lifeboat crews continued their busy season with five more calls over the weekend.
Early on Saturday morning they were called to assist a yacht adrift in the river off Limers Lane
The inshore lifeboat was launched, collected the boat and made it safe on an RNLI mooring in Appledore Pool.
At midday on Sunday the inshore lifeboat was launched again to a canoeist reported in difficulty off Saunton sands, but it turned out to be a false alarm, with good intent.
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Just an hour later came a call to a boat in the river with its engine running, but no-one on board. A search for a man overboard was started and the main lifeboat was also launched to help with the search.
The owner of the boat was found by the shore based coastguard on Appledore Quay. He had launched the rib, tied it up with an unsatisfactory knot and gone to get his crew, leaving the boat in the water. The knot became untied and the rib went off for a sail on its own around the bay, resulting in the start of a major casualty search and rescue.
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While this was going on, a small yacht was spotted in difficulty off Braunton Burrows. With the two main lifeboats already involved in the previous incident, the lifeboat station's boarding boat was called into action and found the yacht had plastic fouling its propeller. It was made safe by the boarding boat before being passed over to the inshore lifeboat.
The number of emergency shouts for Appledore RNLI this year has already topped 41, making it an even busier year than its record last year and proving the need for the new Tamar lifeboat which is scheduled for arrival at Appledore next year.