The warm August weekend attracted large amounts of people to Thanet beaches but also resulted in a busy time for the Ramsgate RNLI crew.
On Friday evening (August 13) at 6.23pm the inshore lifeboat, Claire and David Delves, launched to a 40 foot yacht with engine failure approximately two miles east North East of Ramsgate, with four people on board.
On scene the crew found the yacht to be sailing well although they were unable to turn the engine on and decided to escort the craft into the turning circle. During this time it was discovered the yacht was taking in water, so a crew member was put onboard to investigate. He found the water was coming in from around prop shaft but once the stern tube gland was tightened the problem was solved. In the interests of safety the decision was taken to tow the yacht the rest of the way into Ramsgate Harbour.
On Saturday (August 14) at 2.56pm the inshore was launched again to a report of a kayak in difficulty with two persons on board at Stone Bay.
Having launched and once on scene the volunteer crew were informed by H.M.Coastguard that another local rib had seen the situation and collected the two casualties with the kayak. They had brought them closer inshore where the pair were able to paddle back to the beach. The inshore team stayed near the kayaks and gave them some safety advise as no life jackets were being worn. They then returned to station.
Later on Saturday evening at 6.32pm the inshore launched to a report of a person in the water in the inner harbour. Unfortunately due to the low tide the lock gates were closed, so the boat was unable to get on scene. The crew, dressed in drysuits and lifejackets, made their way to the scene by car.
Once on scene it was found that the person had been recovered from the water by harbour staff in their launch, so the crew then returned to station.
At 5.06pm on Sunday (August 15) the inshore crew launched to a report of two swimmers caught in a strong tide, sweeping them out to sea off the Ramsgate main sands.
The inshore carried out a search from the main sands to Dumpton Gap and spotted two people walking up the slope at Dumpton Gap that matched the description given by the Coastguard. The crew were advised to stand down at 6.10pm and returned to station.
An RNLI spokesperson said: “These are busy times for the RNLI with more people holidaying at the seaside than ever and our volunteer crew and our Lifeguards are working hard to keep the beaches safe.”