At 5.25pm Sunday 7 August 2022, H.M. Coastguard requested the crew of Exmouth inshore lifeboat D-805 George Bearman II to assist Sidmouth Independent Arctic 24 Lifeboat Peter & Barbara Truesdale with a broken down 21ft motor boat off Orcombe Point. The motor boat had 9 persons on board including a number of children.
The volunteer crew launched at 5.37pm and were quickly on scene with their Sidmouth lifesaving colleagues who had the vessel under tow. At 5.43pm the tow was handed to the Exmouth lifeboat and the vessel taken to the safety of shore.
On completion the lifesavers were stood down and returned to Exmouth Lifeboat Station where the inshore lifeboat was back on service a short time later.
Sidmouth Independent Lifeboat volunteers were :
Boat Crew: Si Priestley (Helm), Guy Bennett, Ed Birch, Cameron Baker. Tractor Driver: Paul May
Deputy Launch Authority : Andy Mitchell. Shore Crew: Ian Fletcher, Jim Brewster, Kyle Baker, Toby Hoggarth, Mark Davies, Andy Horsley, Brian Taylor
Exmouth RNLI crew who took part in the tasking were :
Inshore Lifeboat : Helm : Harry Griffin, Nick Wright and Geoff Mills.
Other volunteers involved were Deputy Launch Authority, Rick Newcombe. Tractor Driver : Robert Thompson. Head Launcher : Scott Ranft and Shore Crew, Steve Woodbridge.
Specific advice from the RNLI regarding yacht sailing and motorboating can be found here : https://rnli.org/safety/choose-your-activity/yacht-sailing-and-motorboating
If you find yourself in an emergency situation or spot someone else in trouble, you should always call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard. When you take a craft to sea, always let someone know where you are going and when you will be back. Always wear a lifejacket and take a means of calling for help.
