Novice sailor finds himself all at sea
by Gemma Constable
A novice sailor needed help from lifeboat crew three times
at the weekend after getting grounded in his new boat and then
becoming lost in the Thames Estuary.
The man, who had no sea experience, had bought the 24ft boat
Shannon Rose on Saturday and was planning to sail from Sheerness to
Essex.
He first wound up aground at Grain, opposite Sheerness lifeboat
station, on Saturday afternoon.
Both the inshore and all weather lifeboats attended and decided
to leave the craft to await high water.
The all weather lifeboat then went to assist a broken down 20ft
cruiser in the River Medway and towed it to Gillingham.
Then at 10.22pm, the crew was called to Shannon Rose again and
waited until the craft refloated, but as it was unable to restart
its engine it was towed to Queenborough harbour.
The following morning, the all weather lifeboat was called to
its aid again after calls from the captain to say he was unsure of
the craft’s position, but was lost somewhere in the estuary.
Using the lifeboat’s locating equipment, the crew found it off
the north shore of Shoeburyness and towed the craft back to
Queenborough.
The man, and his companion, were given advice by
Coastguards.
He is the second man in recent months rescued by lifeboat
crews after getting confused on the water.
In April,
a man hit the headlines when he tried to sail round the Isle of
Sheppey - thinking it was the UK.
Crews also attended reports of drifting inflatables off
Sheerness at the weekend.
The rescues brought the Sheerness lifeboat launch total up to 50
so far this year.
Sheerness lifeboat coxswain Robin Castle said: “It is perhaps
timely to remind people who take to the water in small inflatables
to make sure they have them tethered to the shore in some way, as
the offshore winds and tides can carry them out to sea quicker than
they might think.
“Also recreational users, who go afloat, make sure they have the
correct safety equipment and correct charts for the areas they
intend to use.”
Do you know who the sailor is? E-mail us at
kentonlinenews@thekmgroup.co.uk
to let us know.
14/07/10
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