Cornwall arts and culture from genius loci

RNLI Lifeboat rescue stories by Daniel Aston

photography and imaging effects by daniel aston

Into Hell and High water - part one [next]
It was a cold winter’s afternoon, fast approaching night; the skies were turning black and a sharp frost spiked the cold air. In the small town of Fowey, in Cornwall, the Brede class lifeboat sat in the water ready for the next call.
At 17:55PM the coastguard received a May Day call from a yacht which had engine trouble; the Lifeboat was called into action. The four crewmen scrambled onto the boat and immediately started the engine. Coxswain Mark Shaw assessed the situation to the rest of his crew, “A yacht about two miles away from here has broken down, it has a family on board consisting of parents and two children.” The crew discussed their plan as the boat battled through ferocious waves and strong currents.

The light outside was dim so flashlights lit the way; progress was slow as an ongoing struggle between the 10m long boat and the wrath of the almighty ocean filled the journey. The Lifeboat had the yacht in sight but the fog clouded their view; Crewman Andrew Walsh set of two flares that lit the night sky, they waited for a reply, but nothing came. He signalled to fellow crewman Josh Marr to call the rescue helicopter for assistance as the weather conditions worsened; waves towered over the roof of the vessel and placing danger on anyone not inside the Brede. Crewman and driver of the boat Harry Cooper called to Marr to assist him with the driving “Its too difficult with the size of these waves, the current’s intense; God knows how the family on the yacht are coping with these conditions!”
“I agree!” Marr replied “Help is on its way, a Sea king helicopter from RAF Chivenor is on its way!” The noise of the crashing waves meant the crew had to shout to each other in order to communicate. Suddenly, a gigantic wave measuring at over ten-foot tall bombarded the side of the boat and with enormous strength, capsized it! For a few seconds the Brede and its four crew were under water, the Lifeguards using air pockets to stay afloat. Thanks to the Lifeboats self-righting mechanism, it was back in action after a few seconds.

The crew changed their tactics; they sailed into the on-coming waves but now that was impossible as the waves were coming from all angles; Coxswain Mark Shaw decided that they should carry on towards the yacht and risk the danger of capsizing, his fellow team mates agreed. Moments later, as the storm grew worse, thunder and lightning began to haunt the skies, torrential rain powered the sea as everything turned sour. The Brede class Lifeboat was built to withstand Gale Force 8 so the crew had no doubts of continuing with the voyage.
Cooper sighed with relief as he heard the sound of the helicopter arriving overhead, he quickly radioed in to the Sea King to asses the situation. “We’re trying to send a winchman down to the yacht, but with the weather conditions it’s simply not possible to do that, over!” cried the helicopter pilot.
“O.K, can you see the yacht, over?” Cooper asked,
We’re picking it up on radar and it’s directly beneath us, over!”
“What is the view fro…” the radio died for a few seconds as the Lifeboat capsized for the second time.
“Are you Okay, over!?” called the helicopter pilot in desperation, he waited until the reply call came back,
“Yes, we’ve just capsized, the waves are unbelievable down here, what’s it look like up there, over?”
“It’s hard to see through the fog, but its all white water as far as I can see, over!”
“Have you made contact with the yacht, over?”
“Not yet, we’re going to send a winchman down now though, it’s now or never, despite the conditions!”
“OK, get the children first; we’ll be right by your side if you need any help, over!”
“Sure thing…can you see the yacht, over?”
“No, the fog is too strong down here, over!”
“Alright, we’ll speak to you soon, over and out!” The helicopter began to lower a winchman steadily down towards the yacht; they had no idea how bad a state the yacht and its crew were in. Meanwhile, the Lifeboat steadily made its way closer and closer towards the yacht, but progress was still slow and dangerous. Walsh looked through some binoculars to try and see the vessel, but he couldn’t.

Click here for part 2