Busy week for new Cowes RNLI lifeboat crew

Volunteer crew based at the new RNLI lifeboat station in Cowes' Shepherds Wharf marina faced a busy Cowes Week. The lifeboat, recently taken over by the RNLI, launched a total of 11 times during the regatta.

This is the first year that the recently formed RNLI volunteer crew has been on-call during the week-long Skandia Cowes sailing regatta, as the Atlantic 85 inshore RNLI lifeboat was officially placed 'on service' from the 1 July 2008.

With a total of around 970 yachts and 8,500 crews racing in the busy waters of the Solent, the British summertime weather provided challenging conditions for sailors. With a wet and windy start to the first day of racing, 2008 Cowes Week did not disappoint when it came to exhilarating sailing conditions, with winds from 5-36 knots during the week-long regatta.

Incidents that the Cowes RNLI lifeboat crew were called to ranged from dismastings, to boats involved in collisions that required towing into the marina, including one yacht with a hole in its hull and a call-out to a yacht that ran aground on the Brambles Bank. One of the RNLI Cowes rescues, involving a dismasted Sigma 38 called Pavlova, http://www.cowes.co.uk/zonexml/video?story_id=4913">was captured by Cowes TV. 

Commenting on the number of rescues during their first Cowes Week as RNLI lifeboat crew, Cowes RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager, Capt. Paul Townsend says:

'The weather conditions certainly played a role in the number of rescues our volunteer lifeboat crew were called to. It's been a busy first Cowes week for the RNLI inshore lifeboat with 11 launches. Our 14 volunteer crew, who were all taking annual leave from their full-time jobs, worked almost non-stop to respond to call-outs. I'd like to thank the crew, and their families, for giving up their hard-earned annual leave to maintain 24/7
search and rescue cover in Cowes.'