On Saturday (May 25) inshore lifeboat Claire and David Delves was launched by HM Coastguard to reports of four young people adrift on a dinghy just outside Ramsgate Harbour.
Launching at 4.15pm the Ramsgate volunteer crew were directed to the location by Port Control who had spotted the boat. The crew arrived quickly and discovered that it was not a dinghy, but a 17 ft speedboat that had been towing people behind on an inflatable rubber ring.
The speedboat was sinking and drifting towards the break water leaving one person perched on the edge of the vessel, one in the water and two people on the rubber ring.
The inshore recovered all four casualties into the lifeboat and then manoeuvred the speedboat back to the safety of the Harbour where it was lifted out by a hoist.
Coxswain of Ramsgate RNLI Ian Cannon said: “In this case the people on the speedboat had taken the sensible precaution of having a mobile phone onboard so had been able to call the emergency services themselves, alerting the Coastguard.
“Whenever you set to sea always ensure that your boat is in good condition and you have a means of calling for assistance if required.”
