Ramsgate’s Inshore Lifeboat “ Claire and David Delves” was launched yesterday evening (April 13) at the request of UK Coastguard to aid a ten metre cabin cruiser with engine failure.
Those onboard had made a Pan-pan call by phone. A Pan-pan is the international urgency call indicating that someone aboard a boat is declaring an urgent situation that is not an immediate threat to either the vessel or the people on board. Pan-pan is from the French word panne meaning breakdown.
The initial position was given as four and a half miles South of Ramsgate. The Inshore Lifeboat made their way to the position given by the Coastguard, but found nothing in the area. They then made their way further south where they spotted a vessel roughly one and a half miles away and found it to be the casualty. The crew took the craft under tow and guided it into Ramsgate Royal Harbour.
The original position given by the Coastguard had been estimated by tracing the casualty’s mobile phone signal, as this was the means they used to contact the Coastguard.
After securing the cabin cruiser to the pontoon the volunteer crew returned the lifeboat to the station.
With restrictions slowly being lifted and the Summer approaching the RNLI is expecting an increase in calls. The RNLI relies purely on donations from the public so after a year where they have been unable to fund raise in the normal way support from the public more than ever.
