Graham Dawson News

The crew of a stricken fishing vessel, seemingly washed up on the beach at Chapel St Leonards, are safe and well, Humber Coastguard reported.   Skegness and Chapel coastguards, Skegness RNLI inshore lifeboats and a rescue helicopter were all tasked to the 18-foot coble reported to the Coastguard as washed up on the beach.   It later transpired the boat had capsized while being launched, throwing the two crew into the water. The crew were found further along the beach, wet and cold but otherwise unhurt.   Graham Dawson, Watch Manager at Humber Coastguard said, “The crew of this boat were found in time to stand down the major rescue resources we had tasked.”

A man has been rescued after his yacht ran into difficulty 28 nautical miles north of Cromer. Humber Coastguard received a distress alert from the 22-foot yacht just after 8 a.m. this morning. The person on board reported that he was taking on water, his sails were in tatters and the engine had failed. The wind at the time was gusting up to 46mph, with a 3.5-meter swell. The search and rescue helicopter from RAF Wattisham was sent to the scene, along with the RNLI’s Cromer and Humber all-weather lifeboats. A vessel in the area at the time also went to help and stood by the yacht until rescue units arrived. The man was then winched on board the helicopter and taken to hospital to be checked over as he is showing signs of suffering from hypothermia.

Humber Coastguard received a call just after 10am this morning reporting two people in the water after their powered canoe had capsized just west of the Humber Bridge. The Hull Coastguard Rescue Team, Humber Rescue Inshore Lifeboat and the police all attended and found one of the boat’s occupants clinging to his companion, who was the only one wearing a lifejacket. The RAF search and rescue helicopter from Leconfield lifted the very cold canoeists aboard; they were put ashore and taken to Hull Royal Infirmary, where they were confirmed as well. Humber Coastguard Watch Manager, Graham Dawson, said, "Anyone taking to the water should always wear their own properly maintained life jacket or buoyancy aid.

Three crewmen have been rescued off Lowestoft this afternoon after their vessel caught fire in the North Sea. Humber Coastguard coordinated the rescue operation after the crew abandoned the ECC Topaz 10 nautical miles east of the town. The vessel had been heading out to service a windfarm when the blaze struck just before 1 p.m. The crew, who were wearing lifejackets, managed to get into a liferaft while they waited to be rescued by the Search and Rescue helicopter from RAF Wattisham.

Three crewmen have been rescued off Lowestoft this afternoon after their vessel caught fire in the North Sea, the Humber Coastguard reported. Humber Coastguard coordinated the rescue operation after the crew abandoned the ECC Topaz 10 nautical miles east of the town. The vessel had been heading out to service a windfarm when the blaze struck just before 1 pm. The crew, who were wearing lifejackets, managed to get into a liferaft while they waited to be rescued by the Search and Rescue helicopter from RAF Wattisham. The crew were winched to safety and airlifted to James Paget University Hospital at Great Yarmouth as a precaution. They aren’t believed to have suffered any serious injuries.

A UK dive boat’s malfunctioning GPS & engine breakdown were the cause of two divers being lost in fog near the wreck of the ship ‘Alster’. Humber Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre was called by a dive vessel at just after 1530 on a recent summer afternoon. They were told that the vessel’s engine and GPS had broken and it couldn’t find the two divers who were believed to be on the surface in black wets suits and marker buoys. The situation was not helped by thick fog that reduced visibility to 50 metres.